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THE 



WOMAN'S MEDICAL COMPANION 

AND 

GUIDE TO HEALTH: 

A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE 

DISEASES OE WOMEN AND CHILDEEN, 

WITH 

■ FULL AND DEFINITE DIRECTIONS FOR THEIR TREATMENT, 

GIVINQ THE 

CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, AND MEANS OF PREVENTION OR CURE, 

WITH THE 

liATEST AND MOST APPROVED METHODS OF TREATMENT ADOPTED 

BY ALL SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE; THEIR DOSES AND MODES 

OF ADMINISTRATION CAREFULLY PRESCRIBED. 

Profuselg Illustrateti fig tfje '^votz&&i(in. 

/^ 

FREDK. J. GARBIT, M.D., 

Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Fellow of the Royal College of Phyiicians, and for 
many years Assistaat at Bartnolomew's and Guy's Hospitals, JLondon, England. 

BOSTON: "^i^y fj^^,^ 



1879. 



Copyright, 1879, 
JOHN P. DALE & COMPANY. 



Fresi of Rockwell and Churchill, 39 Arch Street, Boston. 



INTEODUCTORY NOTICE 



The author, having had a practical experience, ex- 
tending over a period of nearly thirt}^ years, in the 
study and treatment of the Diseases of Women and Chil- 
dren, in St. Bartholomew's and Guy's Hospitals, of Lon- 
don, and subsequently, both as Phj'sician and Lecturer, 
in the Public and Municipal Institutions of New York Cit}^, 
has been brought into contact and practical acquaintance 
with every phase of disease to which women and children 
are especially liable, whether in the crowded cities or in the 
suburban districts. It is his purpose, therefore, in the 
*' Woman's Medical Companion and Guide to Health," 
to give 3'oung women, wives, and mothers the benefit of that 
varied experience ; and, by the facts and principles 
brought to bear upon the daily life in the home, the nurser3", 
the sick-room, and the factory or work-room, to afford them 
the means of preventing^ as well as ameliorating and avert- 
ing, many of the ills to which flesh is heir. The advice, 
observations, and directions as to sj^mptomatology, treat- 
ment, hygiene, diet, regimen, etc., are deduced from a life- 
long experience, and a careful and critical analj'sis of the 
scientific researches of the most eminent authorities on mat- 
ters relating to the public health. He therefore feels fully 
justified in his conviction that, in the work now submitted 
to the reader's notice, he is suppljing a long-needed and 
universally-acknowledged want, — a reliable, comprehen- 
sive, plain-spoken Guide and Mentor, specially designed 

(3) 



Introductory Notice. 



for, and devoted to, the physical and mental welfare of 
women. The author's chief aim is to maintain (or, rather, 
aid his readers in maintaining) the human organism in its 
pristine health and strength; and, where, from neglect or 
want of knowledge, it has been allowed to deteriorate and 
fall into a diseased condition, to point out the surest and 
the most effective means for its restoration, — thus securing 
to the women and rising generation that greatest of all 
human blessings, — a healthy mind in a healthy body. 



PEEFACE 



This work is speciall}^ designed for the use and guidance 
of Woman in the execution of her onerous and multifarious 
duties and responsibilities, as the most important and 
essential unit in God's grand scheme of creation. All will 
admit that "Knowledge is Power;" — and in the posses- 
sion of that knowledge of the laws of her being, and their 
influence on herself and her offspring, alone lies safet}^ for 
the human famil}', — for if she be weak and debilitated in 
mind or body, — if she be unacquainted with the anatomy 
and physiology of her sex, and of those principles which 
govern the existence of herself and offspring, — is not the 
entire human race affected through her? 

From various causes a large majority of women have 
been debarred, hitherto, from obtaining an adequate- knowl- 
edge of their ph3^sical life ; and, in consequence, they have 
not been enabled to avail themselves of the vast influence 
and power they might wield, as the pivot on which the 
wealth and prosperity of the nation depend. In view of 
the fact that an accurate and comprehensive knowledge of 
their mental and ph3'sical functions, and their capacity for 
unlimited development, is all that is required to render 
Woman the true Archimedean lever of this nether world, 
we present this volume for her careful perusal, convinced 
that by following its counsels she would be enabled to fill 
her dignified and responsible position with gratification to 
herself and lasting benefit to the communitj^ 

(5) 



6 Preface. 

It is our special purpose to faithfully portray the pecu- 
liarities of her structure and sexual functions ; to demon- 
strate how those powers maj^ be exercised, preserved, and 
maintained in their pristine vigor and normal health ; and 
how they ma}^ be controlled and made a never-failing source 
of comfort, attraction, and usefulness to her fellow-creatures. 

We have endeavored to point out the causes of those 
defects, deviations, and derangements from nature's stand- 
ard which have been initiated and developed b}' ignorance, 
civilization, fashion's freaks, and the customs of " society ; '* 
the diseases, suffering, and social disqualifications which, 
as a sequence, have fallen to her lot ; and the method by 
which she maj' be effectuallj^ and permanently restored to 
that superior position to which she is entitled, giving her 
mental and phj'sical strength to meet its requirements. 

All technological or scientific phrases and terms will be 
avoided where practicable, or otherwise explained by the 
illustrations interspersed through the volume or in the 
glossary. Fact^ and fact onl}', will be our standard ; theor}^ 
and conjecture will be ignored. All the accidents, malforma- 
tions, and special diseases to which the several sections of 
the female organism are subject will be truthfully delineated ; 
a resume of the treatment bj" the various medical schools 
will accompany the diagnosis and symptomatology of each 
affection, to which we shall add our own experience and 
advice under the circumstances, defining what remedial 
treatment may be pursued by the nurse in attendance, and 
where the aid of a medical practitioner should be invoked. 

In the Treatment of Diseases, special care has been taken 
to avoid all invidious preference of any particular method, to 
the disparagement of any other, for the reason that thousands 
of lives have been and are still sacrificed to the unreasoning 
bigotry and hostility existing between the various schools of 
medicine. We have, therefore, carefully selected the best 



1 



Preface. 7 

and most efficacious remedies used by each of the schools, so 
that the patient can use the one most in accordance with her 
habits and ideas. 

With the sincere and honest assurance that we are only 
actuated by a desire to benefit womankind permanently, by 
giving them a reliable guide, conscientiously abjuring every 
unworthy motive, and resolutely opposing every system of 
quackery or antiquated dogma, and endeavoring to keep 
pace with the onward stream of educational progress and 
reform in medical science, we therefore confidently commit 
ourselves to the good- will of our readers, trusting that our 
undertaking will merit the approbation and universal 
patronage of those on whose behalf and for whose service 
it is written, — the Women of America. 



SYNOPSIS 



CHAPTER I. 
General Description of the Hujian Body.— The Anatomy, the Muscular 
and Nervous Systems, and their Uses, with Illustraiions, pp. 13-22. 

CHAPTER n. 
The FemaXiE Organs of Generation, external and internal ; with Illustrations 
of their construction, locality, and relation to each other, pp. 23-28. 

CHAPTER m. 
The Period or Puberty and Menstruation. — The Function of Menstruation 
explained, 29 — The ancient and biblical Theories and Regulations regarding 
it, 30 — Their Notions and Superstitions in reference to the Function, 30 — The 
Influence of the American Climate on this important office of nature, 31 — 
The Dangers and evil Results of their Suppression, 32, 33. 

CHAPTER IV. 
Hygiene, or the Laws of Life and Health. — The Transformation from 
Childhood to Womanhood, 34 — Cleanliness, 35 — The Necessity for keeping the 
Pores of the Skin open by frequent Ablution, 35 — The use and abuse of hatha, 
36 — Cold, warm and sponge baths, 36 — Cleanliness in Clothing, 38 — Regula- 
tion of Diet, 39 — The Sensations : moral, mental and physical, 40 — Home Influ- 
ences and Associations, 42 — Domestic Relations, 43 — Rest and Sleep, 44 — Our 
Sleeping-rooms, 46 — Beds and Bedding, 47 — Night Dress, 48 — The proper 
position for and amount of sleep, 48 — Incentives to sleep, 49 — Exercise in the 
open air, 49 — Legitimate and healthful Amusements, 51 — Theatrical Entertain- 
ments, 51 — Domestic Amusements, 52 — Gjonnastic and Calisthenic Exercises, 
53 — Articles of Food, 53 — Comparative Digestibility of Staple Articles of 
Food, 55 — Clothing and Dress Reform, Illustrated, 56 — Bony Framework of 
the body, 57 — The Results of Tight-Lacing, 58 — "Common-sense" Methods of 
Dressing, 64-67. 

CHAPTER V. 
The Marriageable Young "Woman, 68. — The advantages she possesses over 
her European sisters, 63 — The disadvantages under which she labors, 69 — 
How these may be obviated, 69 — The Evils of Premature Development, 69 — 
City Children, 70 — Dangers of Girlhood, 71 — The Women of the Future, 72 — 
The Age of Puberty, or Womanhood in its early bloom, 73 — Imitation, 73 — 
Diseases incident to the Period of Puberty, 74 — The Sympathetic Action of the 
Uterus or Womb, 75 — Afi^ections of the External Organs of Generation, 77 — 
Chlorosis, or the Green Sickness, 82 — Hysteria, or Hysterics, 85 — Iliac Pas- 
sion, or Ileus, 90 — Nymphomania, or Furor Uterinus, 91 — Hysteralgia, or 
Irritable Uterus, 93 — Leucorrhoea, or the Whitefi, 96— Aneemia, 109— Angina 
Pectoris, or Neuralgia of the Heart, 107. 



10 Woman's Medical Companion, 



CHAPTER VI. 

DERA-NGEsrEJfTS OF THE Menstruax FUNCTION. — Amenorrhces, or Suppression 
of the Menses, 109— Vicarious Menstruation, 118 — Menorrhagia, or Excessive 
Menstruation, 119 — Metrorrhagia, 123 — Dysmenorrhcea, or Painful Menstrua- 
tlon, 126. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

WOMEX AS "Wmis AND MOTHERS. — Prospective Motherhood, 131 — The influ- 
ence of Pregnancy on a Healthy Constitution, 132 — Pre-natal Influences, 132 — 
Hereditary Peculiarities, 133 — Transmission of Deformities, 134 — Heredity of 
Habit, Disease, and Crime, 136 — Transmission of Traits of Character, 137 — 
How Parents should live after Conception, 133 — Duties of the Husband during 
the Period of Gestation, 139 — Commencement of Infants' Life at the moment of 
Conception, 140 — Signs of Pregnancy, 142 — Preservation of Health during 
Pregnancy, 144 — Care of the Breasts, 145 — Derangements during Pregnancy, 
146— False Pains, 147— Method of calculating the Time of Confinernent (with 
time-table), 148-161 — Parturition or Confinement, 162 — Childbirth or Labor, 
102 — Instruction to Nurses in Parturition or Confinement, 163 — Preparations 
for the Birth. 164. 

CHAPTER Vni. 

Tbeatment after Delivery. —Management of the Lying-in Room, 167 — Af- 
ter-pains, 168 — Flooding after Delivery, 168 — Duration of Confinement, 169 — 
Diet and Regimen during Confinement, 170 — Diseases following Parturition, 
171 — Milk Fever, 172 — Constipation after Confinement, 173 — Diarrhoea after 
Confinement, 174 — Retention of Urine or Painful Urination during Confine- 
ment, 174— Sore Nipples, 175 — Gathered or broken Breasts, 177 — The Mam. 
mary Glands, 178 — Causes of Disease, 179 — Child-bed Fever, or Puerperal 
Peritonitis, 182 — Milk-Leg, or Crural Phlebitis, 1S3— Nursing sore mouth, 185 
— Perspiration after Delivery, 186— Excessive perspiration after Delivery, 186. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Care of the Infant. — Washing the Infant, 187 — The Use of Powders, 
188 — Dressing the Navel, 189 — Clothing of Infants, 191 — The Essentials of 
Infants' Clothing, 192 — Apparent Death or AsphjTda, 193 — Meconium, or first 
Discharge from Bowels, 195 — Swelling and Elongation of the Head, 194— Swell- 
ing of the Infant's Breasts, 195 — The Uses of Colostrum, 196— Nursing, 197 — 
Nursing necessary to Health, 198 — Regimen during Nursing, 199 — Conse- 
quences of Improper Diet, 199 — Dietetic Regulations, 200 — Deterioration of 
Milk, 201— Alcoholic Liquors injurious, 202 — Mental Emotions afl'ecting the 
Milk, 203 — Efl"ect of Emotion upon the Infant, 204 — Weaning, 205 — The first 
Dentition, 205 — Supplementary Diet of Infants, 208 — Cow's Milk, 208 — Fari- 
naceous Food, 210 — Necessity for Regularity of Diet, 212 — Method of Testing 
Milk, 213 — Wet-nurses, 214 — Influence of the Nurse on the Infant, 215 — 
Qualifications of a Nurse, 216 



Sy7iopsis. 11 



CHAPTER X. 

Infantile Affections and Diseases ofChildhood. — Crying, Wakefulness, 
and Restlessness of Infants, 218- — Diseases of the Air-Passages and Lungs, 219 

— Children's Dresses , 220 — Low-necked Dresses , 221 — What Nurseries should 
be, 221 — What Children should wear, 222 — Coryza, snuffles, cold in the head, 
224 — Cough, or Tussis, 225 — Bronchitis, 228 — Pleurisy, or Pleuritls, 232— 
Pneumonia, or Inflammation of the Lungs, 234 — Hoarseness, or Raucitus, 238 

— Croup, 238 — Membranous Ci'oup, 241 — Whooping-Cough, or Pertussis, 241 

— Infantile Asthma, 243 — Lai-yngitis, or Inflammation of the Larynx, 244 — 
Cold, 245 — Diseases of the Stomach and Intestines, 246 — Thrush or Aphthse, 
250 — Canker of the Mouth, 250 — Gangrene of the Mouth, 252 — Ptyalism, or 
Salivation, 253 — Ranula, or Swelling under the Tongue, 254 — Gum-boils, 254 — 
Abscess in the Gums, 254 — Mumps, or Parotitis, 254 — Inflammation or Swell- 
ing of the Tongue, Glossitis, 256 — Dentition, or Teething, 257 — Toothache, 
260 — Sore Throat, or Quinsy, 261 — Malignant or Putrid Sore Throat, 262— 
TonBillitis, or Inflammation of the Tonsils, 264 — Falling of the Palate, 265 — 
Diphtheria, or Diphtherite, 265 — Nausea, Vomiting, and Regurgitation of Milk, 
268 — Biliousness, 269 — Off^ensive Breath, 270 — Wind Colic, or Colic of Infants, 
270 — Cholera-morbus, 271 — Cholera Infantum, Catarrh of the Intestines, or 
Summer Complaint, 272 — Dyspepsia or Indigestion, 274 — Constipation, 276 — 
Dysentery, 277 — Prolapsus Ani, or Falling of the Body, 278 — Rupture, or 
Hernia, 279 — Worms, 281— Epidemic Cholera, 283 — Hemorrhoids, or Piles, 
284. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Diseases of the Skin — Scarlet Fever, or Scarlatina, 287 — The difference be- 
tween that disease and Measles, 289 — Malignant Scarlet Fever, 290 — Treat- 
ment, etc., 291 — Scarlet Rash, 292 — Measles, Rubeola, 293— Nettle Rash, 
Hives, Urticaria, 296 — Erysipelas, or St. Anthony's Fire, 298 — Itch, Psora, or 
Scabies, 299 — Itching of the Skin, 301 — Herpes, or Tetter; Zoster, or Shin- 
gles ; Circinnatus, or Ringworm, 301 — Prickly Heat, 303 — Strophulus, Red 
Gum, White Gum, Tooth Rash, 304 — Chicken-pox, 305 — Variola, Varioloid, 
306 — Vaccination, 310 — Intertrigo, Excoriations, 311 — Pimples on the Face, 
Acne Punctata, Comedones, 311 — Abscesses, 312 — Boils, 315 — Scald Head, 
Tinea Capitis, Favus, 315 — Crusta Lactea, Milk Crust, Impetigo, 317. ' 

CHAPTER XII. 

Diseases of the Brain, Nervous System, Etc. — Inflammation of the Brain, 
321 — Chronic Hydrocephalus, 325 — Convulsions, Spasms, or Fits, 325— Cho- 
rea, St. Vitus' Dance, 329 — Headache, 331 — Neuralgia, 334 — Rheumatism, 
332 — Angina Pectoris, 335 — Tic Douloureux, 335 — Sciatica, 335 — Diseases of 
the Eyes, Ears, and Nose in Children, 336 — Sore Eyes in Young Infants, 336 

— Sty on the Eyelid, 337 — Squinting, Strabismus, 337 — Diseases of the Ear, 
Inflammation of the Ear, 337 — Earache, 3S8 — Running of the Ears, 338 — 
Bleeding /rom the Nose, Epistaxis, 339 — Diseases of the Urinary Organs, Wet- 
ting the Bed, 339 — Retention of Urine in Infants, 340 — Inflammation of the 
Privates, 341. 



12 Woman's Medical Coinpanion. 



CHAPTER xin. 

The Domestic Management of the Sick-room. —Beds and Bedding, 342 — 

Ventilation, 343 — Temperature, 344 — Cookery for the Sick-room, 345-350. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Oasualties, External Injuries, Burns and ScAiiDS. — Concussion of the 
Brain, 351 — Sprains, 352 — Wounds, 352 — Dislocation of Joints, 355 — Frac- 
tures, 355 — Foreign Substances In the Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat, 356. 

CHAPTER XV. 
PoiBONS AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. — Irritant Poisons, 358— Narcotic PoisonB, 358 

— Narcotic Acrid Poisons, 358 — Their relative action on the system, and the 
appropriate remedial agents, 359-364. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Uterine Dispi^acements, Fungoid Growths, Tumors, etc. — With Illustra- 
tions. — Pelvic Organs, in normal position, .366 —Displacements of the Uterus 
or Womb, 367 — Retroversion of the Womb, 368 — Retroflexion of the Womb, 
370 — Retroversion and Retroflexion combined, 371 — Anteversion of the 
Womb, 372 — Anteflexion of the Womb, 373 — Anteversion and Anteflexion 
combined, 375 — Latero- Version, 376 — Prolapsus Uteri, or Falling of the 
Womb, 376— Inversion of the Uterus, 378 — The Immediate Eff"ects of these 
Displacements, 379 — Cancers, Tumors, Fungoid Growths, Abscesses, etc., in 
the Organs of Generation, 379 — Afl'ections of the External Generative Organs, 
380 — Abscesses of the Labia, 380 — Encysted and Warty Tumors, 380 — The 
Clitoris, 381 — Cancerous Growths and Glandular Enlargements, 381 — Tu. 
mor. Abscesses, and Thickening of the Membrane, 381 — The Internal Organs 
of Generation, 381 — Elevation, Immobility, and Hernia of the Uterus and Ova- 
ries, 382 — Displacement of the Bladder, 382 — Displacements of the Intestines 
into the Vagina, 383 — Prolapsus of the Vagina, 383 — Moles, Hydatids, and 
False Conception, 384 — Fibrous Tumors of Uterus and Ovaries, 384 — Polypus 
of the Uterus, 385 — Cauliflower Excrescences of the Uterus, 385. 

CHAPTER XVII. 
The Change of Life — Diseases of Old Age. — • Hygiene for the Decline of 
Life, 387— Old Age and its Diseases, 389 — Diet and Regimen, 390 — Habits, 
390— Care of the Skin, 391. 

APPENDICES. 
Appendix A— Diseases and their Symptoms, 396. 
Appendix B — Remedies for the Diseases, 401 — Homceopathic Remedies, 401 

— Diseases of Pregnancy and Parturition, 403 — Diseases of Children, etc., 408- 
428 — Allopathic and Eclectic Remedies for Diseases, in Alphabetical 
Order, 428-475. 

Appendix C — Domestic Receipts, 476 — Stimulants, 479 — Anthelmintics, 480— 
Ointments, 481 — Blisters, 482 — Eye and Ear Washes, 484 — Fomentations, 485 
—Miscellaneous Receipts, 485 — Preparations for the Hair, 486-487. 

Appendix D — Various Methods of Bathing, etc., 488-495. 

Glossary, 495-500. 



THE 



WOMAN'S MEDICAL COMPANION, 



'XKc 



CHAPTEE I. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE HUMAN BODY. 

The Body consists of a framework of bones, the skeleton^ 
led together at the joints by ligaments, and of the soft 
oai'ts, the organs, vessels, nerves, muscles, and connective 
:issue, which collectively are called the JlesJi. 

The parts of the skeleton are the skull and lower jaw, 
he spine, the ribs, the breast-bone, the collar-bones, the 
blade-bones, the basin, the arms and hands, the legs and 
feet. (See frontispiece . ) 

The Skull (cranium) consists of several bones all 
Srmly locked together in the grown person, but some of 
svhich are separate in the infant to allow of the more easy 
passage of the head through the parts of the mother during 
bkth. 

The Spine, or backbone (vertebral column), extends 
from the back of the skull, which it supports, to the "basin," 
and is made up of short bones called " vertebrae," which are 
30 shaped and placed upon one another as to form a con- 
tinuous tube, in which lies the spinal marroio (spinal cord) ; 
the seven topmost bones are called cervical, or neck ver- 
tebrae ; the next twelve are called dorsal, or back vertebrae ; 
the next five are called lumbar, or loin vertebrae. The 

(13) 



14 Woman's Medical Companion. 

column teiininates with the cross-bone {sacrum), and tej^- 
minal-bone {coccyx) ; these last form the back part of the 
basin. 

To each dorsal vertebra, right and left, a Rib is attached, 1 
making in all twenty-four ribs. These ribs, ^ith the ex- \ 
ception of the two lowest, are united in front to the Breast- | 
Bone (sternum) , so as to form a hollow box, the chest. \ 

The Collar-Boiies {clavicle) , one on each side of the | 
neck, are shaped lilvc the italic letter/, and are attached by | 
one end to the breast-bone and by the other to the blade- 
bone. 

The Blade-Bones yscapula) , whose triangular shape 
can be traced beneath the skin, are crossed obhquely by 
a ridge called the spine, which ends in a projection 
{acromion), forming with the end of the collar-bone the 
top of the shoulder. 

The Basin {pelvis) consists of four sets of bones : m 
front the two innominate hones, which form the share-hone 
or the x>uhes; the haunch-hones at the sides, and the seat- 
hones hQ\ov^\ \hQ cross-hone ; and 1\\q terminal-hone. 

The Arm is attached b}^ the shoulder-joint to the blade- 
bone or scapula. The upper aim consists of one bone, the 
humerus, jointed at the elhow to the forearm, which con- 
sists of two bones, the ulna on the inner side, the radius on 
the outer. The Wrist comprises eight bones, the Hand 
fiA^e, the Fingers three each, the Thtdib two. 

The Leg" is attached to the basin or pelvis b}' the hip- 
joint. The thigh has one bone,, called the femur. The 
lower leg, connected b}^ the knee-joint, and covered b}' the 
knee-pan {jnUella), has two bones, the shin or tihia on the 
inner side, the small hone or Jlhula on the outer. The ankle- 
joint connects the leg and foot. The under sm-face of the 
latter is called the sole, the upper is called the hack or 
dorsum; behind is the heel, and in front are the toeso 



General Description of the Human Body, 15 

The body may be dmded into the Head, the Trunk, and 
the Limbs. 

The Head, consists of the face, the skull, and the lower 
jaw. Within the skull lies the hrain^ a mass of nervous 
matter continuous with the spinal cord. From the brain or 
spinal cord delicate threads called nerves pass to everj^ part 
of the bod}'. Motion and sensation are dependent on the 
healthy condition of these organs, and injury or distui'bance 
of their action may be followed by ^Dain, convulsions, or 
parah'sis. 

The Trunk consists of the neck, the chest, and the 
abdomen ; an accurate idea of the respective organs con- 
tained therein and their location being most readil}" conceived 
b}' reference to the engTa\angs on pp. 16 and 17. 

The front or anterior part of the neck is called the throat; 
the back or posterior part of the neck is called the najpe. 
Close up underneath the jaw the bone of the tongue {os 
liyoides) can be felt ; a little lower is a projection, com- 
monly called " Adam's apple," more prominent in men than 
women (the th3Toid cartilage) , the interior of which forms 
part of the larynx, or instrmnent by which the voice is pro- 
duced ; below this the windpipe (trachea) can be readify 
traced. 

The Chest, or thorax, is formed by the twelve dorsal 
vertebrse, the collar-bones, blade-bones, ribs, and breast- 
bone with the flesh ; all these bones are so jointed to each 
other as to allow of considerable alternate contraction and 
expansion of the chest during the act of breathing. 

The Breasts {mammoi) . On either side of the breast- 
bone (stermtm) are the Breasts. These are made up of fat, 
connective tissue, vessels, nerves, and milk -glands. These 
glands have some resemblance to bunches of currants, and 
terminate by fine tubes or ducts in the Nipple or Teat 
{rnamlUa) . The surface of the nipple is dark, and it is seated 



16 Woman's Medical Companion. 




Fig. I.— Front View of the Thorax. The Ribs and Sternum are represented 
in Relation to the Lungs, Heart, ^d other Internal Organs. 



General Description of the Human Body, 17 




Fig. 2. — ^The Regions of the Abdomen and their Contents. 
Edge of Costal Cartilages in dotted outline. 



18 Woman's Medical Coinpanioji. 



on a colored circle or areola^ which in the virgin is usually 
of a rose-color, but becomes dark when pregnancy occurs, 
and never afterwards regains its former pink hue. 

The hollow beneath the shoulder-joint is called the arm- 
pit (axilla). The space below the left breast where the 
heart is felt beating is called the cardiac region. 

The interior of the chest is called the thoracic cavity. 
Its chief contents are the heart with its vessels, and the 
lungs with their bronchial tubes, in which terminates the 
wind-pipe. The ofRce of the lungs is to expose the blood 
to the action upon it of fresh air admitted to them through 
the larynx, trachea, and bronchial tubes, during the act 
of inspiration^ or drawing in the breath. If, then, the ex- 
pansion of the chest is hindered by the clothing, as by 
tight-laced staj'^s, or if the air is polluted, as by the breath 
of persons in close, unventilated rooms, or by the gases 
from drains, etc., the office of the lungs is interfered with, 
the blood becomes impure and poisoned, and the result is 
ill-health or disease. The blood flows to the heart by the 
veins from every part of the body ; is by it pumped into the 
lungs to be purified ; returns to the heart, and is thence 
transmitted by the arteries throughout the system. The 
Xndse is commonly felt at the wrist, because at that part an 
artery lies near the surface of the body, and is therefore 
easily felt. The number of beats for an adult is ordinarily 
about sevent}^ a minute, though it varies much, even in 
health, in different persons ; but it usually maintains its own 
rate in any individual. 

The part of the chest containing the lungs and heart is 
separated internally from the belly by a fleshy partition 
called the diaphragm^ or mid-rib^ which thus forms the floor 
of the thoracic cavity. 



Geiteral Description of the Human Body. 19 



THE BEIil^Y CABI>OME]¥) 

Is divided into two parts, an upper and larger part, the 
abdomen^ or belh', properly- so-called, and a lower part, 
named the ' ' basin," or thaiielvic cavity. For convenience of 
description, the belly or abdomen is marked ont into nine 
regions. A line is drawn across the body at the level of 
the pit of the stomach, and a second line at the level of the 
hips ; these two horizontal hnes are crossed by two vertical 
lines drawn each from the breast to the middle of the groin. 
The upper third is thus marked off into the epigastric 
region, or pit of the stomach, with on either side the h^^DO- 
chondriac regions (hj-^DO, under ^ chondria, the cartilages of 
the ribs) . The middle part of the belly, or abdomen, is 
divided into the umbihcal or navel region, and right and 
left lumbar or loin regions, the flanks. The lower third is 
divided into the M-pogastric (hypo, under, gaster, the 
stomach) or pubic region in the centre, and the right and 
left iliac or inguinal regions on either side. These three, 
the pubic and two iliac regions, are often together called 
the loiver belly. 

The chief contents of the belly, or abdomen, called the 
viscera, are as follows : in the upper thu'd going from left 
to right are the liver, with its gall-bladder, portions of the 
intestines, the pancreas or sweet-bread, the stomach, and 
the spleen. In the middle and lower third are the small 
intestines or bowels, and the large intestine called the colon, 
which ascends from the right iliac region to a httle above 
the level of the navel, then crosses and descends on the left 
side into the basin or pehic cavitj^, where it is called the 
rectum or straight gut, and terminates at the fundament 
or anus. It is into this portion of the intestine that injec- 
tions, clysters, or enemata are thrown. 



20 Woman^s Medical Companion. 



Ill the lumbar or loin regions lie the kidneys^ whose secre- 
tion, the urine, passes into the bladder. This vessel empties 
itself b}" a small canal called the urethra. The bladder, 
when distended with mine, can be felt like a ball rising out 
of the " basin" or peMc cavity into the pubic region. The 
" basin" or pelvic canity contains the bladder when empty, 
the womb with its appendages, and the rectum. 

All these viscera — stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas, 
spleen, kidnej^s, bladder, womb, etc. — are covered, more 
or less, with a thin lining membrane, called 1^q peritoneum. 
This membrane in certain j^arts is gathered into folds, which 
serve to tie or support certain of the viscera in their places, 
and these folds are called " ligaments." 

THE IVERVOrS SYSTEM. 

"Within the skull lies the brain, a mass of nerv^ous matter 
similar to and continuous with the spinal cord. From this 
brain-matter or spinal cord, delicate threads called nerves 
pass to every part of the body. Some idea of the nature 
and beauty of their arrangement ma}" be seen in Fig. 3, p. 21. 

THE SPIIVAIL. NERVES, 

Connecting with the cord, are in pairs, of which there are 
thirty-one. Each pair has two roots, — a 77iotor root, aris- 
ing from the anterior columns of the cord, and a sensitive 
root, springing from the posterior columns. A section of 
the cord is suiToundcd by its sheath. The spinal nerve is 
formed by the union of the motor and sensitive roots. 
After the union, the nerve, with its motor and its sensitive 
filaments, divides and subdivides as it passes on, and is 
distributed to the tissues of the several organs. 



General Description of the Human Body. 21 




The Nervous System. 



22 Woman s Medical Compaiiion. 

The thirty-one pau's of spinal nerves are divided into eight 
pairs of cervical, twelve paii'S of dorsal, five pah's of lunibar, 
and six pairs of sacral nerves. 

THE SX3IPATHETIC XERVE 

Consists of a series of these gangha, or knots, which extend 
down each side of the spinal column, forming a kind of 
chain throughout its whole length, communicating to both 
the cranial and spinal nerves, and distributing branches to 
all the internal organs. 

These nerves, then, are undoubtedly the organs of feehng 
and sensation of every kind ; through them the mind 
operates upon the body. The intelligent mind, whatever 
that may be, whose seat is in the brain, wills that a certain 
action shall be performed, and instantly through the main 
channel of communication, the spinal cord, the message 
flies, branching off here or there according to the du-ection 
in which the work is to be done, and setting in motion the 
muscles which form it. 



The Female Organs of Generation. 



CHAPTEE II. 

THE FEMALE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 

These arc the ovaries, or egg receptacles, in which the 
ovum or egg is secreted, whence it passes along the Fallopian 
tubes to the uterus or ivomb, whose office it is to contain the 
fecundated ovum diu'ing its gi'owth, and then to expel it 
along the front passage or vagina into the world. These 
organs are all contained within a canity, the walls of which 
are composed of bones and of soft parts, known as the basin, 
or cavity of the pelvis. 

The external organs of generation are usually included 
under one name — the pudenda, or the " Privates." 

Passing backwards from the " privates " (vulva) , we find 
the perineum. This bridge-like structure extends to the 
anus. It measures an inch and a quarter in its normal 
condition, but when, during birth, the child's head is press- 
ing upon it, it is capable of extension to three or even five 
inches. 

The anus is the circular opening into the bowel, and is a 
muscular structui'e capable of considable dilatation and 
contraction. Behind this, 3'ou can feel the terminal bone 
of the spinal column, or the coccyx. 

THE IXTERIVAIi ORGANS. (See cut 4, page 25.) 

1st. The Vagina, or front passage. This is a canal or 
tube measm'ing four or five inches in its natural condition, 
and is extremely elastic. In its healthy state, the walls are 
close together, thus forming a substantial means of sup- 



24 Woman! s Medical Companion. 

port to the womb. In certain cases the walls become very 
relaxed, when, as a natural consequence, the womb loses a 
large proportion of its support, and it is apt to fall — an 
affection known as Prolapsus Uteris Procidentia Uteris etc. 
To the fore-part of its upper wall or roof the urethra and 
bladder are attached ; farther back, about two-thirds of its 
length, the neck of the womb projects into it. The surface 
of the vagina, when healthy, is only just moist, except dur- 
ing labor, when an abundant secretion or mucus is poured 
forth, to aid the passage of the child into the world. A 
similar secretion is ver}^ frequently found in unimpregnated 
females, and in very large quantities, but this does not 
arise from the same cause or the same source. This un- 
natural and unpleasant discharge comes from the womb, and 
is known by the name of Leucorrhcea, or the Whites. In 
these and all the other affections we shall have to mention^ 
medical advice should he at once obtained. 

Behind the vagina, in the hollow of the cross-bone, or 
sacrum, lies the rectum. 

THE TFOMB C^^TERUS) 

In the virgin resembles a small flattened pear in size and 
shape. It is about two and a half inches in length, one 
inch in thicknes, two inches in width, and weighs about 
one ounce. After child-bearing, these dimensions are per- 
manentl}^ increased, so that the whole organ is larger and 
heavier than in the adult virgin. The bottom of the womb 
is called ihQ fundus^ the middle third is called the hody^ and 
the remainder is called the neck or cervix. In the centre 
of the body is a cavity that will contain an almond, lined by 
a mucus membrane, which, during pregnancy, becomes 
greatly thickened. From this cavity a small canal leads 
through the neck or cervix to the external month of the 
womb. There are also two minute openings near the fundus, 
which are continued through the Fallopian tubes. 



The Female Organs of Generation. 



25 



t 3 

2. O 



S I 

3 ^ 

n> 3 

3 & 



3 3 



^ J? 




26 Woman's Medical Compa7tion. 



The neck of the womb, or cervix^ in a healthy woman, 
who- has never been a mother, projects abont three-quarters 
of an inch, or for two-thu'ds of its total length, into the ' ' front 
passage," or vagina, presenting a smooth, conical surface, 
having a transverse or circular depression in its centre, the 
mouth of the womb {os uteri or os cervicis) , with an an- 
terior and a posterior lip. The opening mil admit a large 
knitting-needle or a quill. In women who have borne 
children, the length and size of the neck or cervix var}^ 
greatly ; usuall}' it becomes thickened, and the orifice {os 
cervicis) is often notched, and will sometimes admit the top 
of the forefinger. 

THE FAIiLiOPIAN TTJBES 

Are two pipe-like flesh}' canals which pass off from opposite 
sides of the bottom of the womb {fundus uteri) ; they are 
about four inches in length, and as thick as a crow-quill, the 
passage through them hardl}' admitting a bristle. They end 
in a sort of trumpet-shaped mouth (the paviYiOTi or fim- 
hriated., that is, fringed extremity)^ which, at certain times, 
seizes the ovar}' in its gi*asp, and receives the ovum, or ^g^^ 
which then passes along the Fallopian tube to the cavity of 
the womb. 

THE OVARIES. CEGG RECEPTACI.ES OR OVARIA) 

Are two fleshy bodies, about the size and shape of a large 
almond, which lie half encircled b}' their respective Fallopian 
tubes, a little behind and about half an inch away from the 
bottom of the womb {fundus uteri) , one on each side of the 
ovary to which the}" are connected b}'' a ligament. Each 
womb, contains a number of vesicles, in which the " ova" 
or eggs, are formed, and which, as they become ripe, fall into 
the mouth or "pavilion" of the Fallopian tube to pass to 



TJie Female Organs of Goieration. 27 







Fig. 1. — Pelvic Organs in position. Bladder distended. Womb virgin. 



28 Woman^s Medical Companion, 

the womb. The Fallopian tubes and ovaries are sometimes 
called tlie appendages to the womb. 

The womb, Fallopian tubes, and ovaries are supported 
in their mid-centre position in the basin or pelvic cavity 
chiefly by a membrane, the peritoneum, in which they 
are enveloped, and which is attached by its outer border to 
the soft parts lining the side of the ' ' basin " (^pelvis) , and 
to the other viscera, like a diaphragm. This membrane 
forms a broad fold on the right and left sides of the womb, 
and these folds are called the broad ligaments; it forms two 
narrower and more cord-like folds behind the womb, which 
pass one on each side round the uterine {rectum) to the cross- 
bone, and these are called the utero sacral-ligaments; two 
other less distinct and slighter folds pass in front between 
the womb and the bladder, and are called utero-vesical (or 
womb-bladder) ligaments. The bladder, womb, and bowel 
are thus all tied together, and consequently ii'ritation or dis- 
ease affecting one of these organs frequently involves one or 
both of the others. The womb is further upheld by the va- 
gina. Two fleshy bands, called the round ligaments, arise 
from each side of the womb, a little below and in front of the 
Fallopian tubes, and pass downwards to the groins. 

The entire aspect of the 

UTEBIIVE ORGANISM 

(Exhibited on page 27, and again referred to in our chapter 
on Uterine Displacements, for the purpose of showing their 
normal position) will illustrate the intimate connection of 
the several functions with each other, and demonstrate the 
important fact that the healthy or diseased condition of one 
organ necessarily and inevitably involves the integrity of 
the whole. 



Puberty and Meiistr nation. 29 



CHAPTER III. 

PUBERTY AND MENSTRUATION. 

During infancy and childhood the breasts and organs of 
generation, both internal and external, remain undeveloped ; 
but when the girl reaches the age of puberty — fourteen j^ears 
or thereabouts — these organs take on growth, enlarge, and 
graduall}' become mature, and fit to perform the functions 
of reproduction ; the girl, in the course of the next five 
years, becomes an adult woman. 

MEIVSTRUATION. 

There is no function of the female economy of which 
even females themselves are more ignorant than menstrua- 
tion. That a process so vital to their general health, as 
well as to the fulfilment of their natural functions, as the 
source from which future generations are to derive their 
existence, should be so imperfectly understood by women 
generalh', is a disgrace and a crime, for the existence of 
which there is not even the shadow of an excuse. Igno- 
rance of this first and fundamental law of woman's nature 
is the cause of two-thirds of the demoralization, wicked- 
ness, and loss of virtue with which this world has been 
cursed since the creation. Fully three-fourths of those 
insidious and life-destrojing maladies to which women are 
liable may be directly traced to their misapprehension on 
this matter. What wonder, then, that the medical fraternit}^ 
should be so divided in opinion, and originate so many 
contradictory and speculative theories, within the last 



30 Woman's Medical Companion. 

two centuries, on menstruation and the disorders arising 
out of the derangement of this function? 

The fault, without doubt, lies primarily at the doors of 
the maternal parents themselves. From a spurious idea of 
modesty, from indifference, or pm-e carelessness, thej^ have 
permitted their daughters to arrive at the age of puberty 
without the slightest intimation as to what they might expect 
to experience ; no word of counsel or caution has escaped 
their lips — the i)Oor girls, affrighted at the appearance of 
the unexpected discharge, have endeavored to arrest it, and 
thus laid the foundation for an interminable train of painful 
and fatal diseases, making their life a prolonged and never- 
ending miser}' to themselves and those with whom they are 
connected. 

The Ancients had many superstitious notions regarding 
menstruation. The wonderful periodicity^ and regularity of 
the flow once in every twenty-eight days led to the conviction 
that this flow was caused and governed by the moon, the 
same as the ocean tides. Were such the case, the whole of 
the race would be ' ' unwell " at the same moment ; but the 
contrary is the fact, for there is not an hour, or, indeed, a 
moment, in the whole 3'ear in which thousands are not under- 
going that periodic \dsitation. 

POPUXiAR ERKORS COIVCERKIIVG MEIVSTBTJATIOIV. 

Many of our most eminent medical practitioners confi- 
dently assert that menstruation is inseparabl}^ connected with 
and dependent on the process of ovulation, or conception. 
But this also has been proved to be an error in fact. 

The truth, as estabUshed and corroborated b}' the general 
experience of women is, that ovulation can and does exist 
without menstruation^ and that menstruation frequently oc- 
curs without ovulation. Conception or ovulation doubtless 
has an exciting or stimulating influence on the menstrual 



Puberty and Menstruation. 31 

function, but that the one is necessarily and inevitably the 
cause of the other is manifestly erroneous. 

The ph^'siological function and sole duty of the ovary is 
to mature and deposit its ova, or eggs, once ever}" twenty- 
eight daA's, which it regular!}' does, in the majority of healthy 
females. The same principle regulates the occurrence of the 
menstrual function, but the simultaneous occurrence of the 
ovulating with the menstrual epoch is a pure coincidence. 
Many a female has become pregnant, not once only, but sev- 
eral times in succession, without even the sUghtest sign of 
menstruation. 

In this country the sexual function is not assumed until 
the fourteenth year, as a rule ; in warm climates it appears 
somewhat earlier, and in colder regions, at a later period. 
Perhaps local causes and conditions have quite as much to 
do with the early or late appearance of the catamenia as the 
climate. It has been observed that those who are brought 
up luxuriously, and whose moral and physical training has 
been such as to exaggerate the susceptibilities of their ner- 
vous system, menstruate at an earlier period than those who 
are brought up roughly and are accustomed to coarse food 
and laborious emplo}^nent. The appearance of the menses 
prior to the fourteenth year is much to be regretted, because 
it demonstrates a premature development of the generative 
organs ; and, on the other hand, a late or retarded first ap- 
pearance is always to be regarded as an evidence of weak- 
ness or disorder. An undeveloped state of the uterine 
organs, indicated by a procrastination or non-eruption of the 
menstrua, always, in the mind of the skilled physician, 
excites apprehension for the welfare and security of the per- 
son in whom it is observed. In such cases we often find 
the body bhghted, the mind dull and weak, with the chest 
and lungs insufficiently developed, all of which render the 
patient an easy prey to disease. 



32 Woman's Medical Companion, 



SYMPTOMS AiVI> l>lTRATIOIV. 

The first accession of the menses is usually preceded by 
headache, heaviness, languor, pains in the back, loins, and 
down the thighs, and an indisposition to exertion. There is a 
peculiar dark tint of the countenance, particularly under the 
eyes, and occasional^ uneasiness or a sense of constriction in 
the throat. The perspiration from the skin has a faint or 
sickly odor,* and the smell of the breath is peculiar. The 
breasts are enlarged and tender. The appetite is fastidious 
and capricious, and digestion impaired. These sjTuptoms 
continue for one, two, or three, or more days, according to 
ckcumstances, and subside gradually as the menses appear. 
The period lasts for three, five, or seven days, according to 
the peculiarities of the constitution. 

These monthly periods return with great regularity from 
the age of fourteen to about forty-five, when they usually 
cease. This period is ordinarily one of great anxiety to 
females, the s3Tiiptoms which present themselves at the time, 
such as sickness at the stomach, capricious appetite, swell- 
ing and pain in the breast, etc., being frequently mistaken 
for pregnancy. 

Menstruation very^ rarely ceases suddenly, but the intervals 
become irregular, eventuating in utter disappearance. Dur- 
ing the menstrual period, especially in young persons, great 
care should be taken to ward off all influences, whether 
mental or ph^'sical, which may have the least possible ten- 
dency either to interrupt or increase the discharge ; be- 
cause upon the health}' and regular action of the discharge 
depends so much of the beauty, perfection, and security of 
the female. During this period there is an increased sus- 
ceptibiiity and excitability of the s^'stem, and consequently 
a greater liabihty to derangements and to diseases of vari- 
ous kinds. 



Puberty and Me7tstr nation. 33 

Serious and even dangerous results often follow a sud- 
den suppression of the menses. Among the causes which 
produce trouble at this period, we may mention sudden 
frights, fits of anger, great anxiety, and all powerful men- 
tal emotions. Excessive exertions of every kind, long 
wallvs or long rides, especially over rough roads, dancing, 
frequent running up and down stairs, have a tendency not 
onl}' to increase the discharge, but to produce falling of 
the womb. The discharge is not unfrequently morbidly 
increased, or entirety arrested, by taking purgatives, emet- 
ics, stimulants, and the various patent medicines recom- 
mended for female weaknesses. Cold and warm bathing, hip 
and foot baths, should be discontinued during the period. 
Care should also be taken not to expose the feet to cold or 
wet. Females subject to leucorrhoea, and who are taking 
vaginal injections, should discontinue them shortly before 
and during this period. During the menstrual period in a 
health}^ person there is little required besides carefully 
avoiding the injurious mental and physical influences above- 
mentioned. 7/", liowever^ the female he delicate and suffering 
from any of the mimerous derangements of menstruation^ or 
any other of the thousand and one sexual irregidarities to 
tvhich the sex are at all times subject, they shoidd not attempt 
to medicate or p)'r^scrihe for themselves, but without delay 

SEEK THE ADVICE AND AID OF A SKILFUL PHYSICIAN. 



34 Woman's Medical Companion. 



CHAPTEE lY. 

HYGIENE, OR THE LAWS OF LIFE AND 
HEALTH. 

We have traced the cleyelopment of the 3'oung female to the 
point where the first great constitutional change takes place, 
transforming her from a child to a woman — from a dependent 
and comparatively helpless being to an independent and 
responsible individual — responsible to herself and others 
for ever}^ act affecting her physical and mental condition, 
entailing either happiness or misery upon herself and those 
with whom she is connected socially or by family ties. She 
consequently needs the closest attention, and the most 
judicious and careful management, not only to counteract 
the tendencies of her semi-childish constitution, but also to 
control her in the enjoyment of her new privileges, and in- 
fluence her in the selection of companions and pursuits. 
She has reached the spring-time of her life ; all her charms 
are budding forth like the opening rose ; she is now the 
delight and attraction, the life and soul, of the social circle, 
and henceforth is an indispensable integer of the species 
she is designed to perpetuate. 

The first and most essential provision for the young as- 
pirant to the privileges of society is, that her surroundings 
should be genial, health-inspiring, and calculated to expand 
her faculties, mental and physical, in order that she may 
Tcnow^ and be thoroughly fitted to fulfil, her mission as a 
citizen of the world, and as the chief agent in moulding 
the character of the community in the immediate future. 

The first law inculcated by nature and by our Divine Cre- 
ator, is that of Cleanliness. 



Hygiene, or the Laws of Life and Health, 35 



BATHI]\G. 

From the time of Adam until now, the importance of 
keeping the skin clean has been universally acknowledged 
and more or less acted upon by the members of every com- 
munit}^, civilized, semi-civilized, or savage. Sanitary regu- 
lations formed a part of the civil and religious laws of the 
Jewish, Mohammedan, and Christian sects ; and even 
amongst the so-called heathen, cleanliness was deemed a 
primary essential to admission even to the lowest grades 
of societ3^ A clirtyin2iii, woman, or child, might be found, 
doubtless, in ever}^ community, but seldom in company with 
intelligence or morality. 

It is not merely the hands and face which have to be 
kept clean, — every part of the bod}^, seen or unseen, must 
be subjected to the daily operation of cleansing, for the 
reason that our skin is not merel}^ a covering and protection 
from atmospheric and other influences ; it is a huge collec- 
tion of more than seven million spiral canals (or 2,800 to 
every square inch of the body) , through which we receive 
a great portion of the supply of air by which we live, and 
from which the refuse of what we have partaken in our 
dail}^ food, and the perspiration or vapor contained within 
our s^'stem, passes off. Any obstruction, therefore, to the 
free passage of the perspiration through these pores, by the 
accumulation of particles of dust, coagulated perspiration, 
etc., not only interferes very seriously with the health of 
the body at every point, but occasions the majority of those 
annojing and unsightly cutaneous eruptions which ever}^- 
body looks upon with horror and apprehension. The pores 
of the skin are equal in importance to the lungs themselves. 
Now these pores cannot be kept open and perfectly free 
from impediment by the ordinary ablution from a small 
basin and a little soap. A sitz bath, or if that is not avail- 



36 Woman's Medical Companion. 

able, a large washing-tub, with a sponge, a good rough j}] 
towel, and carbolized, Castile, or even ordinar}^ toilet soap if 
(so long as it is not scented) , will answer the purpose. You : 
will speedily see and experience the benefits arising from it 
the use of the bath, if you only examine the condition of ^ 
the person when it has been neglected for a few daj's, and j- 
the under-garments hare not been changed sufficiently \ 
often. The insensible perspiration accumulates and dries 
upon the surface of the skin, mingling with the oily matter 
secreted b}^ the oil-glands, and, with the shreds of the scarf- 
skin, foiTHS a tenacious, gluey matter, which completel}^ 
closes the pores. These pores being so closed, the i)er- 
spiration, and other matter which is seeking an exit from the 
bod}^, is retained to poison and embarrass the liAing current 
of the blood, or else to seek an outlet through the kidney's 
or lungs, which are akeady burdened with their own legiti- 
mate work. You will acknowledge then, dear reader, that 
a clear, purified, and healthy skin is one of the first and 
most imperative essentials to a health}' body. 

COI.I>, ^VARM, AIVI> SPOIVGE BATHS. 

A great variety of opinions exists as to the advisability 
or propriety of cold baths. An}" bath below the tempera- 
tm-e of 75° is called a cold bath ; and, if the body is in a 
condition to bear it, it acts as a decided and powerful tonic. 
Our own experience, as well as the experience of many 
thousands of our brother practitioners, has proved the effi- 
cacy' and undoubted advantages of its use, promoting the 
compactness, solidity, and strength of the bod}^, — a tangi- 
ble proof of which is given in the almost instantaneous 
reaction which follows its application. The vessels imme- 
diately contract, and the blood retreats towards the internal 
organs, causing the bather to feel a genial glow all over 
the bod}', from the l^lood being forced back through the 



Hygiene, or the Lazus of Life and Health. 37 

invigorated vessels from the crown of the head to the 
toes. 

As we have said, some persons are so conditioned that 
the shock of cold water cannot be borne. In such cases, 
when a sensation of chilliness is felt, it is an evidence either 
that the bath has been too profuse, or that the S3'stem is 
too much enervated to produce the reaction we have spoken 
of; under these circumstances the bod}^ must \>q gradually 
educated to its use, by using tepid ivater, and reducing the 
temperature slowly until it becomes accustomed to the use 
of water in its natural state. A wet sponge, with or with- 
out soap, applied in turn to every part of the bod}", and 
immediately followed up by a brisk rubbing with a flesh- 
brush or rough towel, will soon accomplish the desired 
result. 

With persons in a feeble condition of health it will be 
necessary to expose a part of the bod}' at a time, quickly 
sponging and rubbing each part dry before proceeding 
with the other, — so subjecting the whole of the person, 
however feeble and delicate the}'^ may be, to the bracing 
influence of water and friction, without the slightest risk of 
shock, or cold arising from exposure. There is no form of 
bathing so universally applicable or so generally" conducive 
to health as the sponge bath. 

THE ^var:?i bath 

Is usuall}" of the same temperatm-e with the body (blood 
heat), from 98° to 105°. It produces no shock, and is 
of special service to those who have passed life's meridian, 
or who are suffering from nervous and muscular debility, 
or whose sj'stems have been prostrated by sickness or 
inactive life. In the last-named cases, great care should 
be exercised in regulating the temperature, so that 
sensations of heat or fulness, or increase of pulsation. 



38 Woman's Medical Companion, 

should not be induced. As a rule, the Tvarni, vapor, or 
shower bath should be used under the advice of the phj'si- 
cian, as serious consequences might ensue from their inju- 
dicious or excessive use. 

There has been, and is even now, a large amount of eiTor 
and fanaticism about the exclusive use of water as a cura- 
tive remed}'. The ' ' water-cure " as a remedy for all dis- 
eases, known and unknown, is simply an exaggeration and 
a ridiculous caricature, calculated to bring into derision one 
of the most valuable remedial agencies with which nature 
has provided us. But even this will effect its own cure in 
time. People will learn that water, judiciously iised, in the 
foim of baths, is a potent moral and physical renovator of 
the race ; and that a community with clean hands, clean 
bodies, clean faces, and clean, health}' habits, will naturall}' 
appreciate and insist upon clean streets and clean cities — 
and eventually clean consciences. Cleanliness in 23h3'sical 
matters naturall}" causes an iiTesistible affection for purity 
in ever}^ other form, until it pervades the moral as well as 
the physical nature. 

CI.EA]VI.i:VESS OF PERSOX; 

Is not all that is required. The same principle must be 
rigidl}' carried out in all the domestic arrangements, ^o 
soiled clothing, no animal or vegetable refuse, no stagnant 
waters or decapng organic matter, no defective drainage 
or close rooms, no miasmatic or malarial poison, should be 
tolerated about the homestead or adjacent buildings under 
any pretext. "With well- ventilated, well-aired, well-lighted, 
well-scoured apartments ; culinary utensils thoroughly 
cleansed ; free ingress for the balm}' breezes of heaven in 
every room ; plain, wholesome food ; systematic and regular 
manual exercise, — walking, running, jumping, dancing, in 
moderation^ — and an avoidance of all excess, dissipation, 



Hygiene^ or the Laws of Life and Health, 39 

late hours, and bad habits generally, — acthig out such rules, 
the person who has but just passed the threshold of adult 
life cannot fail to rejoice in the possession of a " sound mind 
in a sound bod}^," and can safely look forward to a long, 
happy, healthful, and useful life, ending in a hale and 
honored old age. 

A CAREFULiliT REGUl.ATEI> DIET 

Is of all means the most appropriate for moderating 
the excitement and derangement resulting from the 
momentary plenitude of the circulatory s^'stem. The 
food of a young girl should consist mainly of vegetable 
substances, preparations of milk, of the tender, juicy 
meats, and of hght and easily digestible substances, 
some few of the more succulent fruits, and puddings made 
of farina and other cereal products. Water, milk, broma, 
and cooling liquids should form the chief part of her 
drink, and on no account whatever should she indulge in 
candies, ice cream, and other confections, pickles, solid and 
highly seasoned meats, and made dishes, sour and unripe 
fruits, stimulating articles, alcoholic liquors, or the dail}^ use 
of coffee and tea ; they should all be studiously and 
resolutely avoided. Tepid, or nearly cold baths, sponge 
baths, as we have abeady described, taken occasionally, 
say twice or thrice a week, will contribute, together with 
regimen, to produce a general purif}ing, cleansing effect, 
and will have the advantage, moreover, of softening the 
skin, and dispersing the cutaneous eruptions to which girls 
are particularly subject at the period of pubert}'. 

In order to maintain the generative organs in a normall}^ 
healthy condition, and in a suitable state of preparation for 
the periodic exercise of the menstrual functions, moderate 
exercise in calisthenics or gymnastics, wall^ing, riding, and 
running easily, the skipping-rope, jumping, horseback, etc., 



40 Woman^s Medical Companion, 

should be indulged in. Special precaution should be taken 
in regard to the underclothing ; judicious friction should be 
kept up in the genito-urinary region by wearing Canton- 
flannel drawers, etc. ; the wearing of corsets with busks or 
whalebones, or an}i:hing which obstructs the motion and 
free development of the pehis, thorax, and neck, should be 
absolutely and rigidly forbidden. The subject of clothing 
will, however, be detailed in another section. 

"\Ye will now, however, pass from the consideration of 
phj^sical regulations, for a moment, to consider the mental 
and moral influences which should be brought to bear on 
the new candidate for the honors and pri^dleges of woman- 
hood. The most important media for determining the 
physical and social futm*e of the young aspirant is 

THE SEIVSATIOjVS. 

A sensation is an efl'ect produced on the mind through 
a nerve. Hunger is a sensation. It is an efl'ect produced 
on the mind through the stomach. Nausea is a sensation 
produced b}^ some injurious substance acting upon the coats 
of the stomach. In this way the various conditions of the 
body, whatever their origin or exciting cause, have a pro- 
portionate efl'ect upon the mind ; and every mental emotion, 
no matter how remote or apparently trifling, has a depress- 
ing or exhilarating efl'ect upon the constitution. It is a 
demonstrated fact, that the mental faculties and the ph^^sical 
functions are so intimately associated and absolutely identi- 
cal, the one with the other, that the hj^gienic laws refer 'wdth 
equal force to both ; and any neglect or infraction of those 
laws would have an equall}" injurious influence on the mental 
and ph3'sical development of the individual subjected thereto. 

Sensations are either pleasurable or painful. Pleasurable 
sensations arise from the healthy and legitimate exercise of 
some mental or physical function, or the coming in contact 



Hygiene, or the Laws of Life and HcaltJi. 41 

■with some genial and harmonious influence, and are a suit- 
able and adequate reward for the control or self-denial 
exercised in keeping the desires and faculties within proper 
limits. For example, the sensations of freedom and satis- 
faction felt after a moderate amount of exercise, or the 
partaking of a wholesome, moderate meal, is a present and 
tangible reward which the gormandizer or the unmanageable 
romp never feels or knows. The muscles find a sort of en- 
jo}nnent in action. Those who lead a sedentary life, either 
from choice or necessit}', lose much mental and pln'sical 
enjo}Tnent. Hence there is pleasure in labor ; and the 
working-women (the women who pass their time in house- 
hold emplopnent or in light and healthful labor of any 
kind) , though frequentl}' an object of pity with the wealth}^ 
and the laz}-, are usually the happiest members of the 
hmnan race. The ej'e and ear, when directed to agreeable 
sights and sounds, drink in their inherent beauty, and gradu- 
ally become so thoroughly imbued with their spirit, that 
their possessor reproduces and transmits their beneficent 
influence on all with whom she may be associated. The 
mind is nourished and expanded, and b}" the irresistible 
tendenc}' of s^Tupath}', and the desire to communicate to 
others the advantages or blessings it has itself experienced, 
the blessings received b}' one intelligent and appreciative 
mind are distributed and dispensed throughout the com- 
munity. The female organism is speciall}^ adapted for this 
mission. From her ver}' birth, woman's nature is eminentl}' 
susceptible of pleasant, joyous, agreeable impressions ; her 
mind is, beyond all dispute, the most pm'e and truthful 
media for the transmission of Nature's eternal truths ; her 
sympathies, her intelhgence, and her imaginative powers, 
ever enlisted on the side of the true and beautiful ; and it is 
only when that natm'e and those S3TQpathies have been 
directly or indirectly warped, restrained, and aiTested by 



42 Woman's Medical Companion. 

■_ n 

impure or antagonistic associations, that we find lier suffer- 
ing from physical or mental disqualifications, which unfit her 
for the high and useful position in the social econom}' for 
which God and Nature destined her. 



HOME HVFIiUEIVCES AIV© ASSOCIATIOjVS. 

In view of the facts we haA^e narrated, the influences and i 
associations hy which the young girl is surrounded should ' 
be of the purest and least exciting character. Kindness, ? 
sympath}', gentleness, cheerfulness, and broad benevolence t 
and generosity of sentiment should be brought to bear upon | 
her mind in ever}' phase of her existence. Harshness, I 
coercion, insincerity, unreasoning prejudice, sensational 
and inflated ideas of mankind and the world generally, are 
essentiall}^ repugnant to her nature, and should, therefore, 
be studiously and resolutely kept from her path. She is in 
the sunshine of her j^outh : let her see or hear nothing of 
the dark side of nature. To ensure this, Jiome influence is 
undoubtedl}' the best. Many o^ our countr}" boarding- 
schools and city work-rooms are nothing better than moral 
pest-houses. Another inexhaustible source of mischief 
is the cheap periodical literature of the day, sensa- 
tional romances, highl3--wrought novels and love tales, 
exciting a morbid taste for the marvellous, inspiring a 
desire to experience those imaginary scenes and sentiments 
which are never known or realized — except on paj^er; 
the already exalted and excited imagination having been 
raised to fever-heat by questionable books and unsuit- 
able companions. Endowed with a beautiful, delicate, and 
impressionable nervous organism, she contracts baneful 
habits and thoughts, is tormented b}' an absorbing amorous 
melancholy, becomes sad, dreamy, sentimental, and languish- 
ing, and, like a delicate plant withered by the raj's of a 



Hygiene, or the Laws of Life and Health, 43 

burning sun, she fades and dies under the influence of a 
poisoned breath. 

As a matter of coiurse, the remarks we have just made 
refer to those young persons whose buo3'ant, jo3"ous nature, 
cheerful, open disposition, sanguine temperament, and 
genial, courteous, and agreeable manners, and attractive 
figm-e, render them the favorites of the circles in which they 
move. But there are many interesting and intelligent young 
women to whom these observations would be scarcely appli- 
cable. The}" are of a l}Tnphatic, cold, retiring temperament, 
indifferent to the allurements of company, the fascinations of 
romantic scenery, the pleasures of perusing an interesting 
volume or witnessing a legitimate, well- wrought drama. 
Individuals evincing such a tendenc}" should be encouraged 
to seek such som'ces of recreation, in order to dissipate their 
morbid conditions, infuse vigor into their mental and physical 
sj'stems, and develop those latent powers which they possess 
in full}^ the same measiu-e as their more vivacious sisters. 

We have hitherto spoken mainly of the outside influences 
— those independent of the 

DOMESTIC REIiATIOWS. 

It is here, within the magic home-circle, that the true^ the 
life character of the woman is formed. If the mother be 
morose, fretful, hast}', careless, slovenly, haughty, despotic, 
unreliable, loving, orderly, or thrifty, the daughters will, to 
a gTeat extent, reflect, either exaggeratively or in miniature, 
the virtues or vices which they have more or less inherited 
from their parents, especially the mother. The parental 
peculiarities, mental and moral, as well as physical, are, as it 
were, photographed on the children, never to be entirely 
eflTaced. As with hereditary defects of the constitution, af- 
fections of the skin, and other congenital diseases, so it is 
with mental idiosyncracies, they are transmitted from gen- 



44 Woman^s Medical Compaction. 

eration to generation ; and, unless arrested and eradicated 
b}' some superior curative power, increase in intensity until 
the pli3'sical and mental faculties are utterly absorbed and 
transformed by the ruling power or agency. 

Before we leave this department of our subject we would 
give a few general directions as to the h^'gienic regulations 
of a well-ordered household, in order to preserve the body 
and mind in a healthy and 'sigorous condition, sustain and 
develop their vitality, and enable them to avoid disease or 
derangement. 

REST AjVD SI^EEP. 

The human frame resembles a clock ; it runs down and is 
wound up once in ever}" twent3"-four hom's (or, rather, it 
should he) . Were a female required to work on uninterrupt- 
edly, no matter what might be the nature of that employ- i 
ment, she would undoubtedly wear out in the course of a 
very few claj^s ; her physical and mental powers would be 
prostrated beyond all possibility of recuperation. 

It is a merciful interposition that periods of repose are 
allotted to us. Ever3i:hing has its proper place. Rest is 
not less a luxury after exercise than exercise is after rest. 
They both confer happiness at the same time that they pro- 
mote our well-being. But it must be remembered that, as 
natm*e has ordained night for rest, the turning of night into 
da}^ either for pleasure or for labor must necessarily^ be at- 
tended with evil, phj'sical as well as mental. The abridg- 
ment or the alteration of the hours of rest carries with it its 
own inevitable penalt3\ Two hours* sleep before midnight is 
more productive of benefit to both hody and mind than six 
hours after that period. There is no more truthful axiom 
extant than — 

" Early to bed and early to rise 
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and Avise." 



Hygiene, or the Laws of Life and Health, 45 

Of the health and wisdom derivable from the adoption of 
such a S3'stem every reasoning being ma}^ receive daily' 
demonstration ; the icealth is of course a relative question, 
and may truly consist in the accession and maintenance of a 
sound mind in a sound body. 

In regard to the period allotted to rest and sleep, nature 
is the most efficient arbiter. It depends solely on the ph3^si- 
cal condition of the bod}^, the nature of the occupation, and 
the age and sex of the individual. Dr. Abernethy, an 
eccentric, shrewd, but cj'^nical " Old School Physician," had 
some " hard and fast" rules, which, nevertheless, had a cer- 
tain amount of common sense in them. He divided the day 
of twenty-four hours into three sections, — eight hours for 
recreation and rest, eight hours for sleep, and eight hours 
for work ; but he accompanied this suggestion by a rather 
invidious allusion in reference to sleep ^ saving that six hours' 
sleep were sufficient for a man, seven hours for a woman or 
child, and eight horu-s for a fooL You may rest assured 
that none of his patients voluntarily included themselves in 
the last-named category. 

Practical experience demonstrates that more than eight 
hours' emplojTnent for a child or female is necessarily and 
absolutely injurious to their mental and ph^'sical organisms. 
Nor should this eight houishe continuous, — it should be re- 
lieved by intervals of rest and recreation — not sleejD. 
Sleep should be reserved for night, w^hen darkness covers 
the earth and all nature slumbers ; when the feathered song- 
sters have ceased their song, and the flowers have closed 
their petals. Ten o'clock should, as a rule, find every one 
within the precincts of the bed-chamber, not burning the mid- 
night oil in reading sensational andx>rurient novels and tales, 
but courting the embraces of the drowsy god, and gather- 
ing mental and phj^sical strength by enjoying that sweet 
repose which a conscience devoid of reproach, a healthy, 



46 Woman's Medical Companion. 

well-nom'islied body, and a well-balanced mind will alwaj's 
invoke and secure. 

OUR SliEEPEVG-ROOMS. 

Sleep and rest, however, will afford us but little benefit, 
if the room in which we sleep is small, unsuitably situated, 
or surrounded with conditions prejudicial to health, as the 
hom-s spent within the bed-chamber 'permanently affect our 
physical and mental well-being, for good or for e\dl. We 
necessarily breathe a large amount of air during the night, 
and oiu" health becomes seriousl}^ injured if we breathe this 
air over and over again. The room should be tolerably 
large (not one of the smallest, as is usual in famihes), dry., 
well-ventilated^ ivell-aired^ ivell-lighted, and, when practicable, 
on the top floor. Just as much, and even more, attention 
should be paid to the size, situation, temperature, and 
cleanliness of the room as to the parlors or di'awing- 
room. It should be especially i)ro^T.ded that two persons 
(except in certain cases) should never occupy one bed in a 
small room, nor should there be more than two beds, each 
occupied by one person, in a large room ; and again the 
young and the aged should never occupy the same bed. 
Any accumulation of refuse, decaying organic matter, or 
even the location of a large number of trees, near the sleep- 
ing-rooms is highly objectionable. The temperature of the 
bedroom should not be lower than 70 or 75 degrees ; there 
should be ample means for the ingress of UgJit as well as air, 
for in health, as well as in sickness, light and air are the 
chief and most efi'ective restorative and preservative agen- 
cies. 

Fires in sleeping-rooms depend simply on local consider- 
ations. If the occupant be an invaUd, with feeble circulation, 
and ailing, a small fire, kept up for one or two hours prior 
to retiring to rest, may be necessary in cold weather ; but a 



Hygiene^ or the Laws of Life and Health. 47 

person in a normall}' health}^ condition should never indulge 
in a luxury so perfectly unnecessary and prejudicial to 
robust health. 

The Windows should, during the night, be let down 
about an inch from the top, but in such a manner as not to 
create a cross-current from the opposite sides of the room. 
Immediately on rising, every window (the lower sash) 
should be opened wide. The oxygen which the partially 
opened window admits is of the greatest benefit to the occu- 
pant of the chamber, and if the practice is prudently per- 
severed in, will prove an invaluable preservative to health. 
The open fire-place is one of the best ventilators we can have 
for the passing off of the vitiated air, and no sensible person 
would, for a moment, think of hermetically closing this 
useful aperture. 

B£:i>S AN© B£I>I>I]VG. 

While we most emphaticall}- disapprove the use of feather- 
beds and feather-pillows, we do not sanction the oppo- 
site extreme, the un}i.elding hardness of a closely-packed 
straw-mattress : there is in this, as in all other matters 
pertaining to our every-day life, a happy medium to be ob- 
served. The hair mattress^ or what is termed the Excelsior^ 
is the best, the most comfortable, and the most healthy that 
can be used. No one, after a fair trial of it, would ever 
return to the use of feathers. 

In hot weather linen sheets are decidedly preferable to cot- 
ton, where persons are able to prowle them, but in winter 
cotton is much more deskable to use, especially by persons 
peculiarl}^ susceptible to rheumatic affections. Bed-spreads^ 
or "comforters," as they are called, are objectionable, 
because they concentrate the insensible perspiration, and 
envelop the individual in a sort of vapor-bath. Blankets 
serve the pm'pose as an outer covering much better, as they 



48 Woman^s Medical Companion. 

are light, porous, and are excellent radiators of heat. There 
should be just as few clothes as possible on the bed, — only 
sufficient to prevent chill and to keep up the same tempera- 
ture as that experienced in the da3'time. 

NIGHT-DRESS. 

The under as well as the outer clothing worn during the 
day should be taken off on retiring at night, care being 
taken to have the night-dress of the same qualit}' and thick- 
ness of material as the day -clothes. The underclothing 
should be subject to the same regulations. 

THE AMOUafT OF AND PROPER POSITION FOR SliEEP 

Can only be regulated b}' individual circumstances. The 
average time for sleep in the case of a healthy person 
(female) is from seven to eight hours, according to their 
occupation and constitutional peculiarities. There is no 
absolute standard for this, any more than for the amount 
and description of food. Kature is the best indicator in 
this matter. If the sleeper be in health, he should get up 
when he fii*st wakes, whether it be five, six, or seven in the 
morning. The object of sleep is to restore the wasted 
energies ; the extent of that waste and the recuperative 
power possessed b}' the individual will measure the amount 
required. The temperament, constitution, amount of exer- 
cise, and the exhausting nature of the mental application, 
are the elements to be considered in the calculation. 

The most natural position for rest is to recHne on the 
right side, — as it gives perfect freedom to the internal or- 
gans, — of course, occasionally changing to the left side; 
but by no means on the hack^ as in that position the stom- 
ach, bowels, etc., are pressed upon the larger blood- 
vessels in the neighborhood of the vertebral column, thus 



Hygiene, or the Laws of Life and LLealth. 49 

obstructing the circulation of the vital fluid. The hands 
should never be raised above the head during sleep, but 
should be placed in an easy and natural position on a level 
with the bod3\ 

IMCEIVTIVES TO SXiKEP. 

The best incentives to sleep with a person in possession 
of a health}^ mind and a healthy body are judicious exer- 
cise, a proper admixture of mental and physical labor, rec- 
reation and amusement, the partaking of food in moderate 
quantities and at regular hours, the avoidance of all ex- 
cesses, and the possession of a good conscience. No 
person can expect to enjoy a good state of health who in- 
dulges in late and heavy suppers^ or who spends the best part 
of the night in carousals, entertainments, and exciting asso- 
ciations. Fully tJiree Jiours should be allowed to elapse be- 
tween the evening meal and the hour of retirement. The 
best preparation for rest is a quiet hour spent within the 
happy and exhilarating influences of the home-circle. As 
we shall have to consider the important subjects of food and 
clothing in a separate chapter, we will hasten to the consid- 
eration of that essential item in our domestic life. 

EXERCISE IIV THE OPEN AIR 

Is another invaluable adjunct in the preservation of health. 
Persons who take but little exercise leave the lower x^art 
of their lungs comparatively unemployed. As a conse- 
quence, the breathing is labored and unnatural. In the 
case of 3^oung persons, females especially, from fifteen to 
twent3"-flve minutes' exercise should be taken in the open 
air every morning before breakfast, when they should 
inflate the chest by long-drawn inspirations and respira- 
tions, and, after a few such exercises, in addition to the 



50 Woman's Medical Companion. 

morning bath, they would eat their breakfast with a rehsh 
and satisfaction thej" never knew before. 

But this is not all the exercise that is required. It is 
quite true that many persons who have dwelt in one spot 
all their hves, and never enjo3^ed a trip to other scenes or 
chmes, have yet lived to a good old age. But one thing is 
certain, — that, as a rule, both mdnd and body tire of con- 
templating one set of objects for any length of time ; the 
ideas get contracted, the routine of life becomes monotonous ; 
and graduall}^, but surely, both bod}' and mind sink into a- 
lethargic, apathetic condition, incapable of enjopnent it- 
self, or of imparting enjoyment to others. The phj^sical 
frame droops, loses all energ}', and becomes predisposed to 
sickn-ess of various kinds ; and, when the indiAidual is 
actually suffering from illness, frequently sinlvs below all 
possibihty of restoration, from want of change of scene and 
occupation. Travelhng, if onl}^ for a da}" or two, tends to 
draw the thoughts of the sick and feeble from themselves, 
and awaken interest in surrounding objects. In the young 
and healthy it expands the ideas, enhvens the imagina- 
tion, and furnishes them with sources of occupation which 
relieve the monotony of daily life and afford fresh incen- 
tives to exertion. It opens up new sources of gratification 
within them, and gives an abiding and constantly renewing 
interest in the world and its surroundings, which perma- 
nently disengages their thoughts from subjects of a personal 
or painful natm^e, until their very existence seems to bear a 
new aspect, and shadows forth a loftier and more expansive 
world in which they can exercise then- faculties and pro- 
gress toward the final fruition of their ambition. The ner- 
vous system has a miraculous power over the bodily health, 
and the pleasurable sensations evoked by minghng with 
new people, effecting new associations and visiting new 
scenes, often awaken in the constitution latent energies 



Hygiene^ or the Laws of Life and Health. 51 

essential to recover}'. The facilities which extended rail- 
way communication, and general reduction in cost of living, 
have given to every one, however humble in station, to 
make short or long trips to the coast or inland districts (ac- 
cording to circumstances), prompt us to recommend this 
means of health preserv^ation and restoration, as one within 
the grasp of all, and as infinitely preferable to the most 
effective medicament the drug-store ever yet furnished. 

It is a true, but common saying, that " All work and no 
pla}', makes Jack a dull boy." The great problem of the 
da}' is to make a judicious selection, age and sex con- 
sidered, of — 

I-EGITIMATE AND HEAIiTHFUXi AMUSEMEIVTS. 

These must be adapted, not only to the sex and age of 
the individual, but to the time and season of the 3^ear, lo- 
calit}', etc. There is a time for everything. There are 
many amusements in which a young or elderly lady may 
participate with advantage and benefit, without derogation 
from her dignity or position. Of course the same amuse- 
ments are not adapted to all persons. 

THEATRICAI, ENTERTAINMENTS 

are specially gi-atif^dng and attractive to those who have a 
taste for art, and a love for works of genius and poetry; 
it appeals to a higher order of feelings, expands the S}Tn- 
pathies, and gives a more accurate idea of our relations 
to the outer world, and in this respect is a prolific source 
of health and gratification. Many people, we know, think 
theatrical exhibitions are immoral and hurtful ; but in this, 
as in other matters, the evil exists only in the person seek- 
ing it, not in the thing sought. Immoral persons will find 
evil in a church or in a grove, just as they would in a 



52 Woman's Medical Companion. 

theatre, if their motive be e^dl. To the pure all things are 
pure ; they Tvill find sermons in stones, seiTQons in run- 
ning brooks, sermons in eYer}i;hing. Why, even the roar- 
ing farces and the laughable comedies have points of ex- 
cellence ; the absui'dity of the situations and the jokes 
produce laughter, and the laughter drives away the gloom 
and care which might otherwise fill our mind and make om* 
lives a continuous misery. The onh' precaution to be taken 
in going to the theatre is to choose good companions, not 
to stay to a late hour, and not to go too often ; excess in 
awijtMng^ even in bathing or eating, is injiu"ious. 



DOMESTIC A31i:SE3IE]VTS 

(such as Fox and Geese, Hunt the Shpper, Bhud Man's 
Buif, etc.) have unhappil}' gone out of fashion, not only 
in town but in the countr}' districts. These and an occa- 
sional dancing-party {en famiUe) are exceedingl}" healthful 
and enjoyable, in the fall and winter evenings, as a variation 
in the dehghtful atmosphere of the home-ckcle. These are 
recreations which would bear the morning's reflection ; and 
if these domestic games, interspersed with singing, dancing, 
and social intercom-se, were generally revived in America 
(both in town and country) , we honestly believe that one- 
half of the sickness, invahdism, nervous debihty, and posi- 
tive insanity^ by which our worth}' citizens (male and 
female) are affiicted, would disappear forever. Amuse- 
ments are necessary to give a completeness to life. It is 
only when all the numerous mental and ph^'sical faculties 
with which we are endowed are exercised in due and proper 
proportion, that there is a harmonious beauty in them. 
The customs of society put us all out of shape, and rob 
us of every womanl}' and healthy qualit}'. Adhere to Na- 
ture's simple dictates, and you will not onl}' preserve 3'our 



Hygiene, or the Lazus of Life and Health, 53 

beauty of form and character, l)iit develop it to an extent 
far beyond 3'our present comprehension. 

GYMIVASTICS AIVI> CAI.ISTMEIVIC EXEKCISES, 

as a means of healthful exercise for young women, cannot 
be too highly extolled. We are glad to find that it is now 
becoming a part of the curriculum of education in the public 
and private educational institutions throughout this and 
other States, and that it is so admirably combined with 
intellectual instruction, that the mental and physical devel- 
opment of the scholars take place simultaneous^, tlie one 
helping the other, and rendering them capable of meeting 
and surmounting any difficulty with which they may be 
brought into contact. 

Our attention must now be dkected to the 

AKTICIiES OF F001> 

specially suited to the requirements of the female organism. 
It would be absurd to suppose for a single moment that all 
articles were equally suited at all times for the support of 
all, and every individual, man, woman, and child. There 
are many points to be considered in dietary, — age, sex, 
condition of bod}', the occupation, time of year, the climate, 
etc. Food, however, ma}" be first divided into two principal 
sections, — that which produces blood and flesh, and that 
which produces heat. Those producing blood and flesh 
comprise the vegetable and animal products which are or- 
dinarily to be found in an American larder ; the heat-produc- 
ing articles include oils, sugar, starch, farina, arrow-root, 
tapioca, gums, etc. 

The main feature to which we have to look is not so 
much the properties it contains, as its relative digestibility, 
and its suitability to the occupation and condition of health 
of the person concerned. The young woman just entering 



54 WomarCs Medical Companion* 

upon her life of usefulness and often thankless toil needs 
some counsel as to her diet at the most critical period of 
her life, and we shall commence b}^ advising her not to adopt 
any hard and fast ride either as to the quality, quantit}', or 
kind of food for her consumption. If she be of a liveh', 
sanguine, nervous temperament, full-blooded, and excitable, 
no highly-seasoned or luscious dishes should form her diet. 
On rising in the morning a glass of milk with an egg 
beaten-up in it, prior to her morning's " constitutional," 
would impart additional \\gov to her frame, and prepare 
her for the thorough enjo^inent of her morning meal. This 
might consist of bread and milk, a little fish or oatmeal, a 
cup of broma, and home-made bread and butter. Her 
domestic or other duties might then be undertaken T'rithout 
any feeling of fatigue, tu-edness, or ennui, and, the digestive 
powers not ha\'ing been overtaxed, she would be ready to 
do justice to the mid-day refection, which should be con- 
fined to plain, juicy meats, well-cooked vegetables, and 
some light, farinaceous pudding. If liquid beverage of any 
kind were desired, it should supplement the meal, and not 
be taken during the time of eating, lest it should interfere 
with the gastric secretions, and should consist of pure 
ivater, with an occasional addition of lemon-juice. She 
would then resume her special occupation until the evening 
hour, when her physical wants might be supphed by a little 
wholesome fruit, bread and butter, hght biscuits, and 
broma or milk. The habitual use of tea, cofi'ee, pickles, 
condiments, candies, or any heav}', solid material, should be 
studiously avoided. Between that period and bedtime any 
recreation of mind and body suited to her taste and not in- 
volving any undue strain on her mental or ph3'sical faculties 
would close the day happil}', and leave her with intellect un- 
clouded, and her system in a condition to enjoy and derive 
positive benefit from the period of rest assigned her by 
Dame Nature. 



Hygiene, or the Laws of Life and Health. 55 

For the purpose of general guidance, but by no ineans 
as an infallible or authoritative statement (for the digestive 
powers of each individual, even when normally healthy, 
exhibit considerable variation) , we append a 



TABXiE OF THE COMPARATIVE IHOESTIBIIilTT OF 
STAPI.E AI1TICI.es OF FOOD. 



Boiled Dishes. 



Time 
A. m. 

.1 00 

.1 00 
1 00 
1 30 

.1 45 



Rice 

Pig's feet, soused 

Tripe, soused 

Salmon Trout, fresh .... 

Sago 

Codfish, cured dry 2 00 

Milk 2 00 

Tapioca 2 00 

Wild Turkey 2 25 

Parsnips 2 30 

Beans, pod 2 30 

Apple Dumphngs 3 00 

Fresh Eggs, boiled soft 3 00 

Fresh Mutton 3 00 

Chicken Soup 3 00 

Orange Carrot 3 15 

Fresh Eggs, boiled hard 3 30 

Irish Potatoes 3 30 

Mutton Soup 3 30 

Oyster Soup 3 SO 

Flat Turnip 3 30 

Beets 3 45 

Green Corn and Beans 3 45 

Domestic Fowls 4 00 

Soup, Beef, Vegetables and 

Bread .4 00 

Salted Salmon 4 00 

Old Hard Beef, salted 4 15 

Cabbage, with Vinegar 4 30 

Pork, recently salted 4 30 



Boii/ED Dishes. Time. 

A. m. 

INIutton Suet , 4 30 

Fresh Beef Suet 5 30 

Tendon 5 30 

Fried. 

Salmon Trout, fresh. 1 30 

Fresh Eggs 3 30 

Fresh Flounders 3 30 

Fresh lean Beef 4 00 

Animal Heart 4 00 

Pork, recently salted 4 15 

Fresh Veal 4 30 

Raw Aeticles. 

Sweet Mellow Apples 1 30 

Sour MelloAr Apples 2 00 

Cabbage, with Vinegar 2 00 



Milk ...2 15 

Cabbage-head 2 30 

Sour Hard Apples 2 50 

Fresh Oysters 2 55 

Pork, recently salted ,3 00 

Old, strong Cheese 3 00 

Broiled. 

Venison Steak 1 35 

Beef Liver, fresh 2 00 

Fresh Lamb 2 SO 

Striped Bass, fresh 3 00 

Beef Steak 3 00 



56 



Woman's Medical Companio7t> 



Broiled. Time. 

h. in. 

Fresh Mutton 3 00 

Pork, recently salted 3 15 

Pork Steak 3 15 

Sausage, fresh .' , 3 30 

Veal, fresh 4 00 

Roasted. 

Turkey, wild 2 18 

Turkey, domesticated 2 30 

Sucking Pig 2 30 

Goose 2 30 

Beef, fresh, lean, under-done 3 00 

Oysters, fresh 3 15 

Mutton, fresh 3 15 

Beef, fresh, lean, dry 2 30 

Domestic Fowls 4 00 

Wild Ducks 4 30 

Pork, fat and lean 5 15 



Warmed. Time. 

7i. m. 

Meat hashed with vegetables 2 30 

Fricaseed. 

Chicken, full grown 2 45 

Baked. 

Potatoes, Irish 2 30 

Cake, sponge 2 30 

Custard 2 45 

Corn cake 3 00 

Corn bread 3 15 

Bread, wheaten, fresh 3 30 

Melted. 

Butter 3 30 

Stewed. 

Fresh Oysters 3 30 



The vitally-important and much-disputed question of 



CliOTHIlVG AMD ©MESS REFORM 

now remains to be considered. It has been truly said, 
that " What is everybody's business is nobody's business ; " 
and, consequently, every one has a different idea on the 
subject, and it is let alone. FasJiions have been ^et from 
time to time, but without any regard to suitability or com- 
fort, or even the satisfaction of the wearer. The laws of 
physiology are entirely set aside and ignored ; and though 
every woman on the face of the earth readily acknowledges 
the evils, inconveniences, and injuries attendant upon the 
wearing of their garments as at present constructed, it 
would appear that they prefer to suffer the most indescrib- 
able torture, both now and in after-life, rather than disobey 
the slightest decree of their imperious mistress — Fashion. 



Hygiene, or the Laws of Life and Health. 57 




Bony Fsauework of tuk Body. 



58 Woman! s Medical Coinpanion. 

"We are indebted for many of the valuable suggestions on 
this all-important subject of dress-reform to that indefati- 
gable, disinterested, and talented advocate of, and ornament 
to, her sex, — Professor Maky J. S afford Blake, M.D., 
Professor of Gynaecology at the Boston University School 
of Medicine, — whose untiring efforts and personal sacrifices 
on the behalf of suffering womanhood entitle her to and 
will secure for her and her earnest coadjutors the lasting 
gratitude of women throughout the world, and be an endur- 
ing monument to her in the hearts of future generations. 




Fig. 7. The Results of Tight Lacing. 

The freaks of Fashion are so numerous and erratic that 
they would scarce be worth noticing, were it not that the 
results were so dangerous and even fatal. From time im- 
memorial, she seems to have run directly counter to Nature 
and Nature's laws. Dress should be made to suit the form, 
not the form distorted to suit the arbitrary rules of the 



Hygiene, or the Lazus of Life and Health. 59 

costume. The Venus de Medici (the heau ideal of grace 
and sjTQHictiy in the female form) was never encased in a 
framework of whalebone " and steel, with some twenty 
pounds' weight of dr3'-goods hanging upon the abdomen and 
hips. If you will just glance at the anatomical diagram 
on page 57, you will be able to judge of the normar shape 
of the ribs and ' ' waist " of a S3^mmetrical, well-formed 
woman. Now, compare it with the distorted '^ framework 
of a fashionable miss" of seventeen (Fig. 7), just eman- 
cipated from boarding-school, and yovi will be enabled to 
form some faint idea of the miser}-, suffering, and hourlj- 
martjTdom which the reckless votary of' Fashion's follies 
has entailed upon herself. 

i>ress-refobm:. 

Prof. Mary J. Safford Blake, in her admirable lecture 
on dress-reform, remarks, in reference to the absurdities of 
woman's dress, that, as a rule, from six to ten thidvuesses 
of woollen or other material encase the region of the waist, 
while the lower extremities are covered with but one thick- 
ness, and that only of cotton. Under such circumstances, 
an eifort to obtain proper warmth is usuall}' made by adding 
an extra supply of skirts, although these garments contribute 
much more to pressure about the waist, weight upon the 
hips, and undue heat in the kidnej'S and abdominal OJgans, 
than to warmth in the lower extremities. Still it is in these 
lower parts of the body that heat is most needed, because 
there the circulation of the blood is less active, and an 
undercm-rent of air around them is apt to produce chills. 

' ' Let a woman step from a temperature of 70 degrees 
within doors to zero without, and stand on the street-corner 
five minutes for a car, while the breeze inflates her flowing 
skirts till they become converted into a balloon ; the air 
whizzes through them and beneath them, and a wave of 



60 Woman's Medical Companion. 

cold envelops the entire lower portions of her body. Then 
let her ride for an hour in the horse-car, with ankles wet from 
drabbled skirts, and exposed to a continual draught of aii' ; of 
course her whole S3^stem is chilled through, and it cannot be 
otherwise than that a severe cold will follow as the penalty for 
such exposure. A woman, accompanied by her husband, came 
to consult me, on one of the dreariest days of last winter. Her 
teeth chattered with the cold ; and you will not wonder at it 
any more than I did, when I tell you that she had on cloth 
gaiter-boots, tliin stockings, loose, light cotton di'awers, 
two short skirts of flannel, a long one of water-proof, another 
of white cotton, -an alpaca dress-skirt, and an over-skirt. 
This made seven thicknesses, multiphed by plaits and folds 
innumerable about the abdomen. Each of these skkts was 
attached by a double band, and thus the torrid zone of the 
waist was encircled by fom^teen layers. All this weight and 
pressure rested upon the hips and abdomen, and the result 
was — what it alwa3^s will be if this pressure has been long 
continued — a displacement of all the internal organs; for 
you cannot displace one without in some way interfering 
with all the others. Here was this woman, with nerves as 
sensitive as an aspen-leaf to external influences, clad in such 
a manner that every breath of cold chilled her to the very 
marrow, the neck and shoulders protected by furs, the 
hands and arms pinioned in a muff, the head weighted down 
by la3'ers of false hair, and the legs almost bare ; while her 
husband, the personification of all that was vigorous in 
health, was enveloped, as he told me, from head to foot in 
flannel. His every garment was so adjusted that it not onlj^ 
added to the heat generated by the body, but helped to re- 
tain it. I question whether that hale, hearty man would 
not have suff'ered twinges of neuralgia or of rheumatism, 
had he been exposed, as his wife was, to the severity of our 
atmospheric changes. Even in summer these changes are 



Hygiene, or the Laws of Life and Health. 61 

sudden and severe ; and then men are usually clothed in 
woollen garments only a trifle thinner and lighter than those 
worn in winter, while women are often decked in nothing 
but mushn, and are chilled by every sudden nor'-easter." 

Through the courtesy of other physicians I have had the 
opportunity to be present at the autopsy of several unmar- 
ried women, of the class not compelled to labor unduly, so 
that most of the abnormal conditions of the generative 
organs could be rationally accounted for only by improper 
dress. In one girl aged twentj^-two, whose waist after 
death was so slender that 3^ou might almost have spanned it 
with united fingers, there was an atrophied state of all the 
glandular organs. The death of women occurring under 
the influence of anaesthetics has in many instances been 
traced to impeded ckculation, resulting from tight clothes. 
However loosely corsets are worn, the steels and bones 
must adjust themselves to the various curves and depres- 
sions of the body, and must be felt, or else the sure death 
that women so often declare would follow their abandon- 
ment would not be anticipated. As soon as the muscles 
give warning, by their weakness, that they are no longer 
adequate to the support of the bod}"", it is high time they 
were given a chance to recuperate. 

It does not requii-e the foresight of a clairvoyant or for- 
tune-teller to diagnose a chronic case of tight-lacing and 
heavy skirts. You know that when the abdominal muscular 
walls become inert, and almost wasted, one of the most 
important daily functions of the body is rarely, if ever, 
normally carried on. We might enumerate the ill-results 
that follow ; But these are only links in the Ion g chain of 
disorders that have won the disgraceful distinguishing ap- 
pellation of "Women's Diseases," when they should truth- 
fiill}' be termed "Women's Follies." There has been no 
blunder in the formation of women ; there would be harmony 



62 Woman^s Medical Companion. 

of action in each organ, and in the function assigned it, if 
Katnre were not defrauded of her rights from the cradle to 
the grave. 

FASUIOIV'S PE3fAr,TIES. 

' ' A few days ago I stepped into a large corset-factory 
caiTied on by a woman. I told her I was interested to 
know what women and children wear in this line, and asked 
to see her wares from the least unto the gi-eatest. She 
began by showing me the tiniest article I ever saw in the 
shape of a corset, saying that was for babies. Then she 
brought forward another grade, and still another, and so on, 
till I think she must have shown me fifteen or twenty dif- 
ferent sized corset-moulds, in which she runs the female 
forms that get into her hands. She informed me that all 
the genteel waists that I should meet on the streets in the 
fashionable part of the city she had made ; and that the 
mothers brought their daughters in infancy to her, and 
that she passed them thi'ough the whole course of moulds 
till they were read}^ for the real French corset, when she 
considered them finished and perfect. 

*' Yesterda}' I visited the first class in one of our City 
Girls' Grammar Schools, consisting of fortj^-two pupils. I 
had five questions on a shp of paper, that I asked permis- 
sion of the teacher to put to the giiis. 

'''•First. 'How many of 3'au wear corsets?' Ansvoer. 
Twenty-one. 

' ' I asked them to stretch their arms as high as they 
could over their heads. In every instance it was hard 
work, and in most cases impossible to get them above a 
right angle at the shoulders. 

" Second. ' How many of you wear your skirts resting 
entirely upon yom- hips, with no shoulder-straps or waist to 
support them ? ' Answer. Thirty. 



Hygiene, or the Laws of Life and Health. 63 

" Third. ' How niaii}^ wear false hair?' Ansiver. Four. 

^''Fourth. 'How many wear tight boots?' Answer. 
None (which I doubted) . 

^^ Fifth. 'How maii}^ do not wear flannels?' Ansiver. 
Eighteen. 

" I went across the hall to a boys' class corresponding in 
grade, consisting of fort3"-four pupils. I asked for the num- 
ber of bo3's without flannels, and found only six. 

" Of course one hundred per cent, were without corsets, 
or weight upon hips, tight boots, or false hau\ Every boy 
could raise his arms in a straight hne with his body as far 
as he could reach, with perfect ease." — Fi^om " Corsets 
vs. Bixcins" by Louise S, HotchMss. 

[Since writing the above, we have been informed by 
Professor Blake, that the young women of Boston have at 
last paid some httle attention to the reform we have sug- 
gested, and that the average measurement round the waist 
now reaches twenty-seven inches. — Ed.] 

The Dress-Reform Committee, of 2^ Hamilton place, 
Boston, have done noble work in the breaking down of this 
absurd sj^stem of nature-distorting costume, to which the 
women of America have for so many years been voluntary 
martjTS. Desirous of inaugm-ating a permanent reform, 
they have not ventured upon revolutionizing the dress- 
making art suddenly, but -have initiated and brought into 
practical use the suspenders and underclothing dehneated 
in the following pages for the purpose of relieving the hips 
and abdominal region of the fearful burden they have hith- 
erto had to bear. A glance at the simple but eff'ective ap- 
paratus there portrayed and described will convey, in the 
most absolute and convincing manner, the strong common- 
sense, and practical utility which they evince, and the physio- 
logical advantages derivable from their use. They speak for 



64 



Woman^s Medical Companion. 



themselves in language too eloquent to need any further com- 
ment from us. We cordiall}^ and sincerely commend those 
garments and apparatus to the attention and patronage of all 
our readers who desire to maintain their physical sj^stem in 
its pristine symmetry and health. 





Fig. 



Fig. 2. 



Fig. 1 . Union Under-Flankel. This is a garment worn 
next to the skin, and is made to cover the bod}'', and impart 
uniform warmth, without hgature. 

Fig. 2. CriEMELETTE. — A garment combining chemise 
and drawers in one, or it is made separate, with drawers to 
button on, called basque waist and drawers. These can 
be arranged to support skhi;s and stockings from the shoul- 
der, leaving the lungs and other vital organs free and un- 
trammelled in their action. This may be made of cotton, 
hnen, flannel, or au}^ fabric adapted to the habit of the 
wearer. 

Fig. 3. Emancipation Waist. — This waist is made sep- 
arate from the drawers, and may be made double, to take 



Hygiene, or the Laws of Life and Health. 



65 



the place of the corset. It is made single for a corset-cover 
and skirt-sui^porter. 





Fig. 4. 



Fig. 3. 



Fig. 4. Dress Drawers. — The ^' Dress Drawers" maj" 
be worn in place of the underskirt, for extra warmth in 
riding or walking, and during extreme cold in and out of 
doors. This article is made of colored flannel, water-proof, 




or of the dress material, as may be preferred, made to fit 
the ankle closely inside the boot, or with gaiters to go over 
the boot, and to fasten by buttons arranged for the pm^pose 
upon the " Emancipation Suit," or " Chemelette." 



66 Woman^s Medical Compmiion. 

Fig. 5. Skirt Supporters and Shoulder Brace. Fig. 
G. Shoulder Brace, Stocking and Skirt Supporter. 
Fig. 7. Stocking Supporter and Shoulder Brace. 
Stocking-supporters separate are highl}^ recommended. 





Fig. 6. Fig. 7- 

The principles on which these garments and suspenders 
are made is — 

1. That the vital organs in central regions of the body 
should be allowed unimpeded action. 

2. That a uniform temperature of the body should be 
preserved. 



Hygiene y or the Laws of Life and Health. 67 

3 . That Treight should be reduced to a mmimum. 

4. That the shoulders, and not the hips, should form the 
base of support. 

ATe Tvould only remark, in conclusion, that there is a con- 
siderable amount of error in the popular idea as to the anal- 
ogy between the color of clothing and its suitability to 
the season or climate. TThite or light-colored fabrics make 
the coolest garments in summer and the waiTQest in winter, 
for the reason that in summer the}' prevent the sun's raj'S 
from passing inward, and in the winter they interrupt or 
arrest the heat of the bod}^ in its passage out. The contrary 
being the case with dark-colored fabrics, thej^ are rendered 
less suitable for winter clothing than is generally supposed. 

Another great evil prevalent among women is the fashion 
of wearing tliin sJioes^ thus lading a sm-e foundation for con- 
sumption and a thousand other ills of similar character. If 
our ladies would in this matter only follow the example of 
English women, and wear the Jiard double sole (half the 
thickness of that of a gentleman's boot) , they would live much 
longer, and leave a more hardy posterity behind them. We 
rejoice that the native common-sense of New England women 
has latterl}^ much improved the fashion in this respect ; and 
there is every probabihty that, in the com^se of two or three 
3'ears, our " ladies" will, as a rule, protect their feet from 
damp by the Enghsh " double-sole shoe." 



68 Womcin's Medical Companioji. 



CHAPTEE Y. |t 

II 

THE MARRIAGEABLE YOUNG WOMAN. Ij 

The young ladies of America should be eternall}^ grate- j 
ful to that Divine Providence which has cast their lot in a j 
land where, as a rule, woman is respected, independent, j 
and the queen of the sphere in which she lives, moves, and ! 
has her being. The United States of America is, without 
dispute, the Utopia, the El Dorado, for womanhood. Mor- 
ally, socially, and intellectually, she is the peer of, and in 
some respects superior to, masculinity generally, sharing 
their educational privileges and fully participating in all 
the amenities of " societ3\" But here, alas, our eulogies 
and congratulations must, for a time, be suspended ! 
Though they possess such manifest and solid advantages 
over their European sisters in educational advancement and 
social status, they are far behind them in the vitally im- 
portant matter of health, physical strength, and endurance. 
The 3'oung graduate from the High School in Boston or 
New York may, meteor-like, far outshine her transatlantic 
sister in intellectual brilliancy, refinement of taste, social 
attraction, and mental development generallj' ; but in 
symmetry of form, ruddy, robust health, freedom from con- 
stitutional ailment, and general power of endurance, she 
will not bear a moment's comparison. Like the comet in 
the solar system, she shines brilliantly, it is true, and be- 
comes the c^'nosure of every eye ; but, alas, for a period 
as brief as it is brilliant ! The fragile, feeble, sparsel}'- 
nourished body is signally unequal to the strain brought 



TJie Marriageable Voting Woman. 69 

to bear upon it by the prematureh'-developecl, clelicatel}- 
organized mind wliich inhabits it. In place of the roseate, 
dimpled cheek and plnmp figure of the English girl be- 
side her, 3'ou note the highl3^-wrought nervous organization, 
the pale countenance, fitfully illumined by the hectic flush, 
the anxious, enervated expression, the languid and ex- 
hausted air, the fretful, fitful restlessness of disposition so 
unmistakabl}^ indicative of physical inability to bear the 
mental pressure. The spirit is alive and equal to any and 
ever}' emergency ; but the flesh, the framework which con- 
tains that spirit, is unequal to its slightest effort. 

Why should these things be? Nature is not to blame. 
God made of the same flesh and blood all nations of the 
earth. The same immortal, expansive soul inhabits 
European and American alike. Why, then, this great dis- 
crepanc}', when the germ (material and spiritual) exists 
equallj' in every member- of the human race ? Where the 
effect is, there must the cause be found. Nature does not 
change or vary her laws, nor does the Almighty Creator 
permit an}' of his works to fall short of absolute perfection. 
The fault rests entirely with ourselves, a fact which we will 
now endeavor to demonstrate. 

Five-sixths of the American women who arrive at tlie 
age of pubert}^ are more or less afflicted with some con- 
genital or hereditary defect or tendency of a mental or 
physical character, — an abnormality which, as a rule, will 
distill guish and materially influence the whole of their after- 
life. 

FREMATURE DEVEIiOPMElVT. 

The influences which lead to this unhappy result are legion ; 
but, fortunatel}', are all wdthin our own control, if we 
will onl}' exercise that discretion, care, and caution with 
which every human being is endowed. There is a time for 



70 Woman's Medical Companion. 

everytliing. If a flower is forced into Ijlooin two or thi'ee 
months before its time, it is proportionate!}- deficient, either 
in fragi-ance, beaut}', or length of life. The hardy peren- 
nial, Trhich resists the snows and frosts of winter, knows not' 
the atmosphere of the hot-house. So it is with the child 
brought up in accordance with Xatm-e's laws. The smihng 
infant, nesthng in its mothei*'s loving arms, and fed from 
Katui-e's fountain a?o?ie, imtil dentition enables it to i^artake 
of stronger food ; whose hthe and sinuous form is untram- 
melled by iron hoops and mummy-like bandages ; whose 
ros}" cheeks are fanned and braced by the j)ure breath of 
heaven, and illumined by the glorious sunhght ; whose round 
and chubby hmbs are daily bathed in waters fi'om the lim- 
pid brook and crystal spring ; whose beaming eyes are 
greeted with losing looks and cheering words from its ten- 
der nm'ses ; whose little feet are cautiously trained to step 
fi-om chau' to chau* until they gain sufficient strength to 
walli alone, — an infant the subject of such losing care will 
sm'ely develop into a child able to combat successful!}- with 
all the ailments to which cliildhood is specially liable ; its 
mental capacity will expand simultaneously with its physi- 
cal gi'owth, and, in all hiunan probabihty, it will reach the 
close of the first epoch of its hfe in the full possession of its 
powers, and with the abihty to press onward, happily and 
yictoriously, to a youth of promise and practical useful- 
ness. 

CITY CHI1L1>REX. 

TMiat a contrast, however, is presented in a wallv down 
cm' crowded city thoroughfares ! Fully fifty per cent, of the 
babies you meet you would not recognize as babies, — they 
seem more lilvc old men and women in miniatm*e ; all the in- 
fantine lovehncss has departed, if. indeed, it ever existed, 
and a really healthy, symetrically-formed, well-proportioned 



TJie Marriageable Young Woman. 71 

bain' is the exception ; and wh}' ? The reason is apparent : 
the smTonndings of these hapless little beings are tlie exact 
reverse of the j^^n-j^ictiire we have just drawn ; the}^ are 
brought into the world, but onl}' to drag out a miserable 
existence for a few 3'ears, and die an early death. Take 
the census of Massachusetts for 1875 as an example, and a 
comparison of the births and deaths in that State will reveal 
some facts worthy our most serious attention. The births to 
American mothers during the previous year were exactly 
one-half those to foreign mothers ; that is, there was one 
birth to nine native-born mothers, while the foreign-born 
return one birth to four and thi'ee-fourths individuals. 
The percentage of births to American parents, furthermore, 
shows a constant diminution, while the foreign-born evince a 
corresponding increase. Nor is this the worst phase in the 
matter. Of these fully half die before the}' reach the age of 
thirty ; three-fourths of the mortality occurring within the 
first fi\ e 3'ears (or the period of infancy) . 

I>A]VGEI6S OF GIRIiHOOD. 

^^e will suppose, for argument's sake, that the 3'oung 
gu'l has surmounted all the dangers of infancy, and that the 
gaj'cties of girUioodlife, the school-room, the play-ground, 
and 3'oung companions, loom out before her. Here are fresh 
dangers for Zier, fresh responsibilities for her guardians. 
Man}' an evil habit which has imprinted its sign-manual on 
the featm-es, character, and futm-e life of its victim, can be 
traced to her school-girl da^'s, when the mind was fresh, 
fertile, and impressionable, and the physical functions in 
that peculiar condition of receptivit}" and susceptibility that 
made or marred their prospects and principles for the 
whole of her natural life. 

Fresh from the nm'ser}' and the domestic hearth, the 
child's eyes open on new scenes and new surroundings ; 



72 Woman's Medical Companion. 

its heart is opened to new impressions ; its affections seek 
and welcome new companionships, -^ how Adtall}^ essen- 
tial, then, that these scenes, impressions, and companion- 
ships should be pure, elevating, innocent, and congenial ! 
The most prominent characteristic of child-nature is imita- 
tion. If vice, profanit}", looseness, deceit, formahty, fash- 
ionable folh', excess of any kind, characterize the surround- 
ings of the 3'oung girl ; if the senior members and visitors of 
the family display such tendencies, will not she follow but 
too readil}^ the example set her ? Will not she imagine that 
their example would fully justif}^ her imitation thereof? 
But these liome injluences form but one moiety of her life. 
Her hooks and her school associations have quite as impor- 
tant an influence on her future. On the other hand, 
undue restriction — debarring the child from health}-^ and 
seasonable recreation ; excessive taxation of the intellect b}' 
protracted study ; exclusion from all associations of a gen- 
ial, health-inspiring, vigorous nature, and the adoptfon of a 
rigorous, monotonous routine — will produce an effect quite 
as calamitous and unnatural as the course we have just 
depicted. 

THE TVOMEM OF THE FUTURE. 

The only true and proper course of mental and phj^sical 
culture is Nature's own wa^^, — the via media., — in which the 
latent womanhood is controlled., not subdued ; in which 
truthfulness, honesty, natural, unaffected demeanor are in- 
culcated and encouraged ; where the sanitar}^ and hygienic 
laws of both mind and bod}" are faithfully adhered to ; 
where the hours of study are restricted to six hours as the out- 
side limit, recreation another six hours, and the remaining 
twelve hours are devoted to food and rest. Combined with 
this, the moral and social elements must be of the i:)urest, 
and the influence of sensational scenes and sentiments stu- 



TJie Marriageable Young Woman. 73 

dioiish' avoidecl. The 3'oung girl who is just entering the 
confines of that m3^sterioiis ph^'sical change which is to trans- 
form her into an ehgible candidate for the sacred duties of 
womanhood requu'es all the care and tenderness which 
love and s3Tapathy can suggest. 

THE AGE OF PUBERTY, OR T^ OMAIVHOOD IIV ITS EARLY 
BliOOM, 

has now fairl}^ commenced. The chr3'salitic period has 
passed. She appears for the first time on life's stage as ''' a 
thing of beaut}^ ; " it rests with herself, her counsellors, and 
advisers, as to whether she is or is not to be " a joy for- 
ever." If the design of her Di\dne Creator be carried out 
to its full fruition, she will not only be a Jo?/, but an unmiti- 
gated blessing to all future generations. How wonderful 
the change which has taken place, both outwardly and in- 
wardh^, phj'sically and mentall}^, in the being now before 
us ; whether we take the sturdy, health}^, x^leasant-looking 
dair3'woman of the subm'ban farm, or the languid, pale, but 
gi'aceful maiden of the cit3^ drawing-room. The awkward 
gestures, angularities, and innocent freedom of manner 
which characterized the school-girl have given place to a 
roundness and S3'mmetr3^ of form, a gliding gracefulness 
of gesture, a maidenl3^, gentle reserve, and a mellow, rich, 
melodiousness of voice, which, of itself, would indicate the 
fundamental revolution her constitution and her functions 
have undergone. Her childish playfulness and love of mis- 
chief is now superseded b3^ a gentle dignit3^, and, in the full 
enjo3mient of mental and bodil3^ health, a kind of self- 
consciousness of power to please. A sense of the jDossession 
of new thoughts, new deskes, and new relations to the 
world, vague though it be, pervades her whole being and 
imparts to her new fascinations and feelings which she 
scarcel3' understands. But if she has not been dul}^ pre- 



74 Woman's Medical Companiojt. 

pared and educated for this change, she seeks retii'ement, 
shuns society, has tearful parox3'sms, is inattentive to her ji 
studies, her memory becomes treacherous, she exhibits a., 
disinchnation to mental exercises, loses all her pla3'fulness \ 
of disposition, and listlessness and inertia pervade all her I 
actions. This is the culminating point of her life, moral, J 
physical, and mental. She is now destined to be the crown- \ 
ing glory of the human race, or a pitiful, miserable wi'eck 
ofhmnanity, an aborted, distorted, and heterogeneous col- | 
lection of noble elements run to waste, and rendered worse ' 
than useless. Every man possessing common sense and i 
honesty holds in the highest and most sincere admiration I 
the transcendental and glorious qualities of woman in her ' 
pristine condition of mental and bodily perfection — and, on 
the other hand, beholds, with most profound and un- 
si^eakable s^^mpath}' and sadness, the numberless depar- 
tures from that normal state of beaut}^ and completeness 
enjo^'ed b}" our fii'st parents. 

The only obstacles to this normal condition of health of 
body and mind are to be found in that one dread word — 
Disease — congenital or acquii'ed. 

THE DISEASES IZVCIDEIVTAE TO THE PERIOD OF 
PUBERTT. 

At this critical period the seeds of hereditary and con- 
stitutional diseases manifest themselves. They draw fresh 
mahgnanc}' from the new activity of the S3'stem. The first 
spiiptoms of tubercular consumption, of scrofula, of obstinate 
and disfiguring skin diseases, of hereditary insanit}', of con- 
genital epilepsy, of a hundred terrible maladies, which from 
birth have lurked in the child, biding the opportunity of 
attack, suddenly spring from their lairs, and hurry her to 
the grave or the mad-house. 

We propose, however, to take the several affections to 



TJic Marriageable Young Woman. 75 

which 3'ouiig women are liable, in the order of their prev- 
alence. 



THE SYMPATHETIC ACTIOIV OF THE UTERUS, OR WOMB, 

with the other functions of the bod}' is so marked, and is 
so little understood b}' women generall}-, that a word or two 
on that subject is necessar3^ In the earlier ages of medi- 
cal science this s^'mpathetic influence was much exag- 
gerated ; but the recent researches of modern science have 
demonstrated beyond all doubt that in man}' cases where 
the breasts, stomach, bowels, brain, heart, vocal organs, or 
facial nerves have been supposed to be the seat of the affec- 
tion, ultimate experience has proved that the real location 
of the disease Avas in the uterus — the action on the other 
organs being only of a secondary or sympathetic character ; 
as, for instance, in neuralgia, hysteria, etc. 

The diseases of the uterine system may be divided into 
three sections — functional, organic, and malignant, — 
the fanctional consisting of those deviations from the natural 
menstrual secretion known as amenorrhoea, or suppression 
of the menses ; dysmenorrhoea, or difficult and painful men- 
struation ; and menorrhagia, or excessive menstruation. 
Nearly alhed thereto is that anno}'ing, depleting affection 
known as leucorrhoea, the whites, or vicarious menstruation. 
All these disorders, when uncomplicated with other affec- 
tions, may continue for many years without evincing any 
tendency to degenerate into organic disease of the womb. 

ORGANIC DISEASES OF THE UTERUS. 

The organic diseases of the uterus and its appendages are 
frequently the result of inflammation, either of the mucous 
membrane or of the muscular and vascular tissues, pro- 
ducing induration, softening, ulceration, and abscesses. 



( 



76 Wo7nan's Medical Coinpaiiio7i. 

The secreting surface of that organ may also originate 
puralent discharges, or its caTity be distended with air, 
fluid, or masses of degenerated tissue called moles and 
hydatids. Certain organic changes not unfrequently ^yq- 
€iu(iQ f.hrokl tumors, of various degrees of consistence, 
which maiulj aiise from a change of nutrition. 

The most insidious, dangerous, and fatal class of uterine 
troubles are those denominated malignant diseases, com- 
prising fungous growths, mahgnant ulcerations, and mor- 
bid deposits. The fungous gTowths are called cauliflower 
excrescences, being nothing more than a mass of enlarged 
and diseased vessels , smTounded by cellular substances. 
Jfalignant ulcerations usually commence their attack at the 
neck of the uterus, rapidly spreading to the body of that 
organ, and even including the vagina in their operation. 
Cancerous deposits, on the other hand, may originate either 
in the neck or body of the uterus, or in the cellular tissue 
connectuig the uterus with the adjacent organs, and may 
occiu' simultaneously in two or more x^laces. 

Besides these recognized diseases, the uterus is suliject to 
various, accidents^ such as ruptm^e, displacement, etc., of 
which we shall have to treat in then" proper order. 

The Fallopian Tubes and Ovaries are also hable to cer- 
tain morbid changes of a similar character to those afi'ect- 
ing the uterine system, the most common of which are 
obhteration of their canals, distention by serous efi'usion, 
tubercular or encephaloid matter, adhesion, and cancerous 
deposit. 

But up to the period of commencement of the menstrual 
flow, diseases of the internal organs are of venj rare occur- 
rence. As we have aheady remarked, the assumption of the 
menstrual function opens the flood-gates of inherited, latent 
disease ; it awakens the susceptibilities of the generative 
organs to the dominating influence, whether that influence 



The Marriageable Voting Woman, 11 

be normal or abnormal in its tendenc}^ — whether the several 
functions be healthy and vigorous, or feeble and inert. 
We will now consider the 

AFFECTIOIVS OF THE EXTERlVAIi ORGAIVS OF 
GEiVERATIOW, 

which ma}^ have had their origin prior to the establishment 
of the menstrual function. These are so constructed as to 
render them liable to a variet}^ of complaints calculated to 
alarm the patient unnecessarily, from the prominence or 
urgency of the sjTuptoms, though they are seldom attended 
with absolute danger. 

The [Labia Majora (or outer lips of the vagina), on 
account of their looseness of texture, sometimes become 
enlarged and inflamed from slight irritation, and necessarily 
a source of considerable annoj^ance. The}" are hard, red, 
and very sensitive to the touch ; ■ and more or less fever, 
accompanied b}" burning or shooting pains, is invariably 
present. It may arise from cold, excoriation or chafing, 
or from mechanical injuries, though in veiy many cases 
it is produced by neglecting to keep the parts properly 
cleansed every day during and after the periodic menstrual 
pm-gation. In the latter case, the accumulation of the 
acrid secretions causes an intolerable itching ; friction or 
rubbing is consequentl}" indulged in, and the result is exco- 
riation. The same symptoms also occur in the N^^mphse, 
and from similar causes. 

TREATMEIVT. 

Frequent ablution of the parts with warm water, especially 
during the flow, is absolutel}" necessar}^ in any case ; which 
should be followed, if caused through cold, by administer- 
ing belladonna, mercurius, or rhus ; if by inflammation, 
rhus and belladonna in alternation ; and if by mechanical 



78 Woman's Medical Conip 



'anion. 



injury, arnica, both internallj^ and as a lotion, will prove 
effectual. {^See ^'' Hommopatliic Remedies.'^) 



ABSCESSES, TUMORS, ETC. 

Abscesses not unfrequentlj form in the labia, and are 
extremely painful, and are usually caused by blows, falls, 
forcible intercourse, or other external injuries, though oc- 
casionall}^ the}^ may be traced to a general disposition to in- 
flammatory action, without any other exciting cause. Where 
an abscess is present, a hard, throbbing pain is added to the 
previously described sjTaptoms of heat, swelling, and red- 
ness, which involves the groin and a large portion of the 
thigh. The location of the abscess ma}^ be easily discovered 
b}" its hardness. Of course, rest and quiet are indispens- 
able ; a gentle purgative treatment must be adopted, and, 
if possible, suppuration be induced by means of warm 
poultices. If it will not then j'ield, incision will be nec- 
essary. {See ^^ Laxatives'' in Remedies, and ^'Poultices" 
in Sick-Room -Management.) 

Encysted Tumors, generally circumscribed and of varied 
circumference, are occasionally met with, the onh^ remed}' 
being incision or entire eradication. 

Warty Tumors occur in this organ, both singl}" and in 
clusters, and are generall}^ suspended by a pedicle from 
some part of the external surface. They vary in size from 
a i^ea to a turke3''s egg, and have a tendency to spread to 
the internal surface, but are neither painful nor tender, and 
are onl}' inconvenient on account of their bulk. In most 
cases these tumors are venerecd in their origin ; and if per- 
mitted to suppurate, form unhealth}^ sores. They must be 
taken awaj^by knife, caustic, or ligature ; the patient be kept 
quiet and have a moderately nutritious diet ; and if s3T^)hins 
be the origin, mercury, in one of its many forms, should 



The Marriageable Young Woman. 79 

be administered, with the occasional alternation of a gentle 
purgative to purify the system. (/S'ee ^^ Laxatives'' and 
'• Treatment of Leuco7Thoea.") 

Tlie Kyiiipliae, or Labia Minora, are subject, as 
we remarked, to the same contingencies as the labia majora. 
The same treatment is requisite, with perhaps additional 
attention to the local application of bread-and-milli poul- 
tices. It was the practice of the Arabs and Moors, in the 
earlier ages, to apply the rite of circmncision to then* 
young women, by the excision of the part. 

Tlie Clitoris, adjacent to the labia, is subject to en- 
largement from inflammation and to cancerous growths. In 
the former case, cooling and astringent lotions outwardly, 
and belladonna, mercurius, or rhus inwardl}', would give 
relief ; but in the case of cancerous growths there is no alter- 
native but extirpation, which should be performed at as 
early a i^eriod as possible. A curious popular error has 
arisen from the malformation and enlargement of the 
chtoris, which has deceived even the medical practitioner, 
and has been the cause of much scientific and legal con- 
trovers}' ; viz., the possibility of the sexual organization of 
male and female being coexistent in one individual. "We 
o\\\j mention the fact for the purpose of showing the 
source of error and dispelling an idea so absurd and 
erroneous from the minds of our readers. 

Iiiiperforatioii of tlie Hymen. — It is by no 
means infrequent that the hymen is found to be imper- 
forate, or of such intense densit}' that great difficulty is 
experienced in the performance of the menstrual function. 
In the case of imperforation, no inconvenience is felt 
until after the age of puberty, when the menstruous fluid 
is dul}^ secreted, but, finding no outlet, is accumulated 
within the uterus, causing pains at those periods ver3' 
nearly resembhng those of labor, for which the}'^ have fre- 



80 Woman's Medical Conipa^iion. 

quently been mistaken. The same symptoms, somewhat 
modified, attend cases of partial occlusion, though it does 
not entirely preclude conception, several instances having 
occurred in which safe deliverj^ was ultimately effected. 
The remedy is necessaril}' the same in both cases ; ^iz., the 
division of the confining membrane. 

Inflaimnatioil of tiie Vulva. — The inflammation 
of the mucous membrane of the vulva is one of the most 
common, the most unpleasant, and the most obstinate of all 
the affections to which the female generative organs are 
subject. It occurs at all periods of hfe, though it differs in 
its outward manifestations. In children it is called Infantile 
Leucorrhoea, invoMng the whole of the mucous membrane, 
and extending to the vagina, and producing a profuse milky 
discharge. It is more general!}' found among the children 
of the poor, and is the immediate result of neglect, want 
of cleanliness, cold, mechanical injuries, etc. In the 3'oung 
woman or adult the discharge is thicker, more copious, and 
of a 3'ellowish color, acrid, and excoriating the skin at the 
margin of the external organs. In the milder form, the 
treatment is simple and ordinarily successful. 

TREATME^TT. 

The parts should be well fomented with camomile flowers 
or poppy-heads three or four times per day ; and a weak 
dilution of mere, corr., hj'oscyamus or hamamelis virginica 
applied. Internall}', rhus, belladonna, or aconite might be 
administered. If the disease has become obstinate and 
chronic, and assumes the form of Leucorrhcea, of which it 
is the t3*i)e and origin, astringents and tonics of a more pro- 
nounced' character should be given. {See No. 6 et seq.) 
If complicated by dian-hoea, pulsatilla or coloc3'nth would 
remove the s3'mptoms. In all cases extreme cleanliness 
should be observed, with a spare diet. 



H 



The Marriageable Young Woman. 81 

PRrRITtJS, OR ITCHIXG OF THE VUI.VA. 

This distressing and troublesome complaint ,is the most 
dreaded and obstinate disease to which women are subject, 
and is generally S3^mptomatic of some other disease in the 
uterus, bladder, or rectum. It takes awaj^ all rest or sleep 
during the parox3'sm, and consequently causes extreme 
debility. It is b}" no means confined to the period of 
pregnane}^, for 3'oung unmarried women are frequently 
troubled by the visitation. The ' irritating sensations are so 
OTerwhehmng, and the desire to scratch so indomitable as 
sometimes to put decencj^ to defiance ; they make her mel- 
anchoh^, unfit for societ}', desirous of solitude, and subject 
to the most intense ph^^sical and mental excitement. It 
ahnost exclusivelj' affects the abdomen, the private parts, 
and the fundament. The predisposing causes of pruritus 
are : uterine, vaginal, or urethral disease ; pregnane}" ; 
depreciated general health ; habits of indolence, luxmy, or 
yice ; uterine or abdominal tumors ; want of cleanliness ; 
constitutional syphilis, and scA^ere exercise in one of seden- 
tar}" habits. The immediate exciting causes are the contact 
of an ii'ritating discharge and local inflammation or u-rita- 
tion, — leucorrhoea being by far the most prolific som-ce. 
In every case the A^agina should be carefully inA'estigated 
for CA^dence of leucorrhceal discharge, unless some other 
sufficient cause is apparent. 

TREATMEIVT. 

The treatment should be mainh' directed to the disease 
of which this is a leading SA'mptora, — the internal remedies 
being accordingl}' chosen from conium, kreosote, bryonia, 
arsenicum, rhus, Pulsatilla, silica, sulphur, l^'copodium, and 
graphites, in accordance with the originating aff'ection. 

A A'er}' efficacious and simple external application is made 
by dissoMng one ounce of borax (biborate of soda) in a 



82 Woman's Medical Compaction, 

pint of rose-water or soft rain-water, and washing the 
affected part therewith several times a da}'. We have 
found a sokition of mercurius corrosivus extremely effective 
as an outward apphcation, in combination with m}T0- 
petroleum soap. (/S'ee Ho. 252.) 

We are now brought, in the logical sequence of events, 
to consider those diseases to which the j'oung woman is 
especiall}' liable prior to or independent of the menstrual 
function, the most prevalent being 



CHI^OKOSIS, OR THE " GREE^V SICKIVESS," 

which derives its designation from the peculiar pale gTeen- 
ish hue it gives to the complexion. As a rule it manifests 
itself about the age of puberty, and is characterized b}' the 
hue of the countenance just described, deficient warmth, 
perverted, depraved appetite, with occasional nausea or 
sickness, great pli3'sical and mental weakness, impaired 
digestion, palpitation of the heart, and general derangement 
of the sexual function. 

Among the middle and higher classes a predisposing 
condition of the system (the very opposite of the robust, 
full-blooded condition which should exist) to chlorosis or 
general debihty is unhappilj" far too general, so much so 
that more than three-fom'ths of the 3'oung women in the 
large cities of Em'ope and the Western Continent are the 
subjects of uterine trouble from the ver}' commencement of 
their womanly career. Chlorosis usually accompanies re- 
tarded or suppressed menstruation ; but though this is, and 
rightfully so, a subject of great anxiet3'to parents, yet there 
is no justification, under any circumstances, of adopting 
means for the pm-pose of hastening menstruation, nor for 
attempting to remove local sexual aihnents by the adminis- 
tration of astringent, detergent, and other remedies to 



The Marriageable Yottng Woman. 83 

produce the menstrual flux. It is on!}' when all other in- 
dications demonstrate be3'ond doubt that some abnormal 
obstruction alone retards this natural process, that it be- 
comes absolutel}' necessar}' to im^oke artificial auxiliaries ; 
and even then the most skilful medical advice should be 
sought, and not the numberless patent and quack nostrums 
which beset the innocent and ignorant on every side, and 
only serve to still further derange and frequentl}^ destroy 
the health}" action of the sexual functions altogether. 

SYMPTOMS. 

Chlorosis is always a chronic disorder, and commences 
slowly. The patient is at first languid and listless, dis- 
inclined to amuse herself, and is easil}" fatigued ^^J ordinary- 
mental or bodil}' occupation ; her face graduall}- becomes 
pale, and the skin assumes a sallow appearance ; the bowels 
are constipated ; she loses her appetite, and has an unnat- 
ural craving for certain articles of food ; the tongue is white, 
the breath fetid ; and if menstruation has already been es- 
tablished, the discharge loses its red color, and gradually 
diminishes in quantit}" until it is entirely suppressed. 

In the confirmed or chronic condition there is often con- 
siderable emaciation ; the flesh loses its firmness ; the lips, 
tongue, gums, and inside of the mouth are unnaturall}- pale 
or whitish ; sliglit swelling in the e3'elids and face is ob- 
served in the morning, which wears off during the day, and 
at night the feet and ankles are swollen ; the mine is pale 
and limpid, the abdomen is frequentl}' enlarged from flatu- 
lency, particularl}" after eating ; there is sometimes nausea or 
vomiting in the morning, heart-burn, and other sjTuptoms 
of indigestion. The appetite is in man}^ cases morbidly 
capricious ; sometimes there is an insatiable deske to eat 
pickles, chalk, lime, pipe-clay, cinders, etc. The shortness 
of breathing, which, in the first stage, was only sHght, is 



84 Woman's Medical Companioji. 

noT7 exceedingly oppressive, and accompanied Tvith palpi- 
tation of tlie heart on ascending the stahs, attempting to 
walk quickly, etc. The pulse is feeble and small ; there is 
great difficulty in keeping the feet warm ; sometunes there 
is cough, periodical headache, and a yariety of nervous or 
hj^sterical s^Tiiptoms. 

Females of the hTuphatic temperament and of weak con- 
stitution are most frequently attacked with chlorosis. It is 
developed under various debihtatiug causes, as frequent 
exposui'e to a cold, moist atmosphere, water}' or poor diet, 
more especially when conjoined with fatigue and long 
watching, the various depressing passions, as giief, un- 
requited love, etc. 

This disease seldom proves fatal ; but, when left to itself, 
or badly treated, it may be prolonged during many months 
or even years, and leave traces of its injmious effects on the 
constitution in after-life. 

TREATMEA'T. 

There is no disease in which the administration of ii'on, 
in some one of its many forms, is attended with such uni- 
formly favorable results. The tinctm^e or chloride of iron 
should be taken in doses of fifteen drops thi^ee times a daj^, 
about half an horn* before each meal ; the diet must be 
nomishing, as fresh meat and bread, and easj^ of digestion. 
The patient should walk out in the air and sunlight, take 
plenty' of sleep, and frequent^ sponge the body and rub 
thoroughly dry with a coarse towel. Care is necessar}', 
however, to avoid attempting too much at fii'st. The bowels 
have to be regulated before taking a tonic course, and the 
stomach thus become accustomed to the medicine. The 
use of tight corsets and the prevalent method of dress 
among women, viz., overloading the abdominal region and 
hips with a superfluity' of clothing, while the lower ex- 



TJie Marriageable Young Woman. 85 

tremities are exposed to the inclemenc}^ of the weather, 
should be entirely abjured ; the bed should neither be too 
warm nor too soft ; sleep should not be protracted bej^ond 
eight or nine hours, — and all food, drinks, or amusements 
calculated to cause undue mental and ph3^sical excitement, 
such as wine, highh'-spiced condiments, and made dishes, 
yivid emotions, frequenting balls and other entertainments 
of an exhausting character, the reading of highlj^-wrought 
romances, etc., should be absolutely forbidden. {See Nos. 
7, 156, 157, 158, and 159.) 

HTSTERIA, OR HYSTERICS. 

Hj^steria has in many respects a close resemblance to 
epileps}', and is supposed by mau}^ phj^sicians to be a 
species of that disease. Several well-marked symptoms, 
however, distinguish these disorders from each other. In 
hysteria the face is not nearly so much distorted, nor does 
it ever acquire* a livid color, as in epilepsy ; and in the 
former affection the patient generally hears what is said to 
her and seldom becomes entii*ely insensible ; froth does not 
appear at the mouth, there is nO grinding of the teeth, nor 
is the tongue ever injured ; the breathing is not stertorous 
or snoring ; and the hands remain open. 

SYMPTOMS. 

A parox3'sm or fit of hysteria is generall}^ announced by 
headache, restlessness, cramps, coldness of the feet, j^awn- 
ing, and sometimes b}" immoderate fits of laughter, or cr3'ing 
and laughing alternately ; the patient experiences a peculiar 
sensation, as if a ball were moving about with a rumbling- 
noise in the abdomen. This, after some time, rises to the 
stomach, and thence to the throat, where it fixes itself, 
causing a most intolerable feeling of choking or strangu- 
lation. The breathing now becomes hm-ried, the heart 



86 Woman's Medical Companion. 

palpitates ; giddiness, sickness at stomach, and dimness of 
sight follow. The patient then falls down, seized with con- 
vulsions ; she screams, perhaps tears her hair and beats 
her breast ; her body is writhed to and fro, and her limbs 
assume a variety of postures. The convulsive movements 
are not constant ; a succession of fits take place, with 
longer or shorter intervals between them. Sometimes the 
urine is discharged involuntarily ; and during the absence 
of the convulsions the patient laughs wildly, cries, or 
screams, and sometimes a distressing hiccup comes on. 
The abdominal muscles may be irregularly contracted, the 
abdomen drawn inwards towards the spine, or tense and 
distended with air ; the veins of the neck are greatly dis- 
tended, and the carotid arteries beat with unusual violence. 
In delicate females the face is pale and flushed alternately ; 
in the more robust, it is flushed, and appears fuller than 
usual. The patient having remained in this state during a 
longer or shorter period, often for twent^^-four hours, and 
sometimes considerably longer, at length begins to recover 
gradually. The spasms abate ; wind is freely discharged 
from the stomach ; there is frequent sighing or sobbing ; she 
complains of severe headache, with a feeling of soreness 
over the whole bod}^ and limbs, and lies in a languid and 
listless state for some time before she is able to rise. The 
recovery in some cases is sudden, and accompanied with a 
loud fit of laughter or immoderate crying ; and there is often 
a copious discharge of pale urine. 



SIMIIiARITY TO OTHER DISEASES. 

This disease simulates so man}^ others, and assumes such 
a variety of s;yTiiptoms, that a concise description fails in 
conveying an adequate idea of it ; but we do not see any 
necessity for giving a minute account of all its various 



The Marriageable Young Woman. 87 

forms and relations, because, however formidable in appear- 
ance, it is never attended with positive danger. 

A point, however, of considerable importance with regard 
to h3'steria is the difficulty of distinguishing it from other 
diseases ; indeed, it has such a close resemblance to h3^po- 
chondria in males that medical men are often embarrassed 
b}^ the variet}" of s3^mptoms which occur in h3"sterical 
females ; and in man}" cases considerable experience and 
judgment are required in order to be able to discriminate 
between functional or even organic disorders and the end- 
less variet}" of forms which this affection presents. An 
M'sterical female sometimes complains of great pain and 
tenderness in the abdomen, and even screams if it be 
touched ; she may have headache at the same time, and 
remain in bed during several da^^s ; but the pulse continues 
tranquil, and the skin is not hotter than natural. Many 
girls, however, have been bled repeatedly while in this 
state, under the idea that some inflammatory action was 
going on. 

Pains about the region of the heart, accompanied with 
palpitations and occasional fainting fits, constitute another 
form assumed b}^ h^^steria, and may at first lead any one 
ignorant of the use of the stethoscope to suppose that 
organic disease of the heart exists. 

Females from fifteen to thirty years of age are most liable 
to h3'steria, and it is generally observed in those of a highly 
nervous temperament, with spare habit of bod}^ ; or in 
plethoric and fat persons with soft and relaxed muscles, 
who are subject to irregularities of the menstrual discharge. 



EXCITING CAUSES. 

The most common exciting causes are disappointed love, 
jealousy, undue excitement, ungratified desires, and all 



88 Woman's Medicat Companion. 

powerful mental emotions wMcli act strongly on the nervous 
S3-stem and tend to induce derangements of mensti'uation. 
H3'steria, in fact, depends almost entii'ely on the education, 
social position in life, mode of living, and moral training of 
females ; many, from having been over-indulged Tvhen 
childi'en, become iiTitable, wa}"ward, capricious ; and, in a 
word, are so self-willed that the slightest disappointment or 
opposition brings on a paroxysm. The eminent physician 
Sj'denham remarked, some years since, that "upon the 
least occasion they indulge terror, anger, jealousy, distrust. 
and other hateful passions ; and abhor joy, hope, and cheer- 
fulness, which, if thej" accidentally arise, as they seldom 
do, quickly fly away, and yet distm'b the mind as much as 
the depressing passions do ; so that the^' obseixe no mean 
in anything, and are constant onlv to inconstancy. They 
love the same persons extravaganth' at one time, and soon 
after hate them without a cause ; this instant they x^ropose 
doing one thing, and the next change their mind and enter 
upon something contrary' to it, but without finishing it. So 
unsettled are then minds that thej^ are never at rest." 
People in general are not much inclined to sympathize with 
h3'sterical females, however formidable or alarming the fits 
may apx^ear, because it is well known that this affection is, 
in a great measure, under then own control ; and, in fact, 
in nine cases out of ten the paroxj'sm is the result of a fit 
of bad temper, or of some excitement which could not have 
arisen in a weU-regulated mind. 

TREATMENT. 

Two indications are to be attended to in the treatment of 
hj'steria : the first is to shorten or moderate the A'iolence of 
the paroxysm ; the other, to prevent the return of the fit. 
The apphcation of cold water to the head and neck, and of 
pungent salts to the nostrils, is sometimes practised with 



The Marriageable Young Woman. 89 

advantag'e, thoiigli in mild cases the fit ma}' be allowed to 
run its course with safet}'. When the parox^'sm is severe, 
the first thing to be done is to prevent the patient from 
receiving injury b}' the violence of her struggles. She 
should be placed in bed in a w^ell-aired apartment, her 
shoulders raised and her dress loosened. If she be capable 
of swallowing, a teacupful of cold water or the following 
draught may be given ; Camphor mixture, two ounces ; sal 
volatile (aromatic spirit of ammonia) , a teaspoonful ; mix. 
Or a teaspoonful of ether may be given in a little cold water. 
Should the face be flushed and the head hot, cloths moistened 
with ether are to be placed on the forehead, or wet towels 
or pieces of linen ma}^ be applied to the same part. 

In order to effect a radical cure of this affection, attention 
must be paid to the general health of the patient, and to the 
state of the digestive organs and womb. If the habit of 
body be full and plethoric, low diet and exercise are proper ; 
but if the patient be dehcate, and her stomach debilitated, 
tonic remedies, such as small and repeated doses of quinine 
and preparations of iron, are the most suitable remedies. 
Medicine, in order to have any decided effect in this dis- 
order, must be clkected towards improving the condition of 
the digestive and uterine functions. {^See also JSfos. 13, 
102, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235.) 

Hysteria may attack any part or organ of the body^ and 
resemble organic disease. Lilie hypochondria, it is reall}' a 
disease, and is to be treated accordingly. Moral influence 
can do much, but it cannot do ever}i:hing. It is a nervous 
disease, and is to be managed on the same general principles 
as other nervous diseases. It should always be remembered 
that hysteria is to woman what h}"pochondria is to man. 
Both are reall}' diseases ; are probably symptoms of some 
disturbance of the central nervous S3'stem ; gradually in- 
crease in frequency ; are often premonitions of actual 



90 Woman's Medical Compaiiion. 

insanity ; may occur at an}" time of life after pubertj^ ; and 
both diseases may often be relieved and cured by appropriate 
treatment. 

IXilAC PASSIO]V, OK HiSUS. 

This disease consists of excessive vomiting, with obstinate 
constipation of the bowels. It is so dangerous and erratic 
that it may commence sudd.enly and terminate fatally within 
fom' or five da^'s, though cases of this description are for- 
tunately very rare. It usually commences with acute 
griping pain, obstinate constipation of the bowels, retrac- 
tion of the navel, and the usual s^^mptoms of severe colic, 
which, not being reheved by any mode of treatment, a still 
more distressing state supervenes. The patient is racked 
with severe pain ; the abdomen becomes swollen and tender 
to the touch ; the pulse is weak, small, and quick ; thkst is 
urgent ; face anxious and shrunk ; fecal matter is vomited ; 
cold sweats, hiccup, and frequent fainting-fits follow, and 
death generally puts an end to the patient's misery. In 
some cases acute pain is felt at a particular part of the 
abdomen, accompanied with heat of skin, quick pulse, 
thirst, and the ordinary s}Tiiptoms of inflammation ; in 
others there are no sjTiiptoms of fever ; in the latter case, 
life ma}^ be i^rolonged a considerable length of time. 

CAUSES. 

Hens may arise from various causes, the principal of 
which are : ruptures, one portion of the bowels i^assing 
within another and becoming entangled ; contraction or 
stricture of the bowels ; obstruction from cancerous or other 
morbid growths ; bands, formed by false membranes, stran- 
gulating or compressing a portion of intestine ; paralj^sis or 
torpor of the bowels, arising from hardened faeces, impacted 



The Marriageable Young Woman. 91 

in some part of the intestinal canal ; or it ma^' be a S3Tnptom 
of inflammation of the bowels. 

TREAT3IEIVT. 

In ever}^ case, the first thing to be done is to ascertain 
whether or not the disease is the result of hernia or rupture. 
A hernial tumor is sometimes so small that the patient is 
ignorant of its existence, or ma}^ not consider it wo^th}^ of 
notice ; and women are often ashamed or unwilling to admit 
that the}" have an}^ complaint of this nature. The bare 
statement of the patient is not b^^ an}-^ means sufficient in 
these cases : the most skilful and careful medical examina- 
tion for rupture should be made. The necessity for pro- 
curing the best professional assistance at an early stage of 
the disease, in order to avoid intense sufi'ering and death, 
cannot be too absolutel}" insisted on. 

Another essential point to be attended to before ha^dng 
recom'se to anj- remedial means, is to ascertain whether or 
not the disease is accompanied by inflammation, the signs 
of which are a constant, acute, and burning pain in the 
abdomen, which is distended, tense, hot, and acutely sensi- 
tive to the slightest pressure, urgent thbst, and high- 
colored urine. In this case, instead of administering 
opiates and strong purgatives, which would soon destroy 
the patient, recom^se must be had to judicious blood-letting, 
and the means usually adopted to subdue inflammation of 
the bowels, of which the ileus may be onl}" a symptom, 
which will, of com'se, be removed along with the inflamma- 
tion. If the disease does not depend on hernia, and if no 
inflammatory s3'mptoms be present, the careful adminis- 
tration of x)m'gatives and opiates wiU be necessary. 

WY3IPII03IAJVIA, OR FUROR ITTERIiVUS, 

is a disease frequently confounded with prmitus vulvae, 



Woman's Medical Companion. 



from tlie similarit}^ of some of the sjTiiptoms, and also from 
the fact that they are sometunes found to coexist in the 
same patient. The diseases are, however, -^TLdel}' different 
in character, and require special treatment. The source or 
seat of this affection, m^mphomania, has been a much- 
disputed point for man}^ years, some placing it in the brain 
and others in the genital organs. We beheve, however, 
with M. Columbat and other modern authors, that it is a 
simultaneous initation of the brain and sexual organs. As 
its name tmphes, it is an exaggerated voluptuous sensa- 
tion, accompanied by irresistible and insatiable venereal 
desii'e. It is less a disease than a symptom, for the con- 
cmTence of the brain and the sexual organs is essential to 
the erratic manifestations. In the former case, the disease 
is developed under the influence of mental causes, which 
secondarih' mitate the genital organs ; and in the latter, it 
is a primary- irritation of the organs of generation, reacting 
s^mapatheticallj' upon the brain, and especially on the cere- 
bellum. 

SYMPTOMS. 

This affection, which maj^ appear at all ages, generally 
attacks women of an original uterine temperament (that 
is, of sanguine temperament, and suffering extreme irrita- 
biht}^ of the abdominal \dscera) . Women of this constitu- 1 
tion have certain characteristics : their statm^e is small, 
their skin dark, and their complexion highly colored ; and 
the breasts, and all the other attributes of womanhood, arc 
full}' develoi^ed and extraordinaril}^ sensitive. Young 
widows, women of ardent nature, fond of pleasure and 
excitement, and, finalh', those attacked with some chronic 
cerebral or uterine affection, especially those inhabiting 
warm climates, are especially hable to this form of disease, 
from the vivid character of then- passions and the super- 
exaltation of thek imagination. 



I 



TJie Marriageable Yoimg Woman. 93 

We will not pm^sue the frightful train of symptoms 
attached, to this disease, but only remark in general that 
the patient gradually loses all self-control, completely for- 
getting her native modest}^, at last falling into a furious 
dehiium. The generative organs are red, excoriated, much 
swollen, and the seat of a purulent, fetid discharge ; there 
is ardent thu'st, grinding of the teeth, spasm of the oesoph- 
agus, and, in some cases, what are called hydrophobic 
S3'mptoms, or rabies. The attacks are frequent, periodic, 
and often fatal, especially where organic disease of the 
uterus or its appendages is present. 

TREATMENT. 

In general, much gTeater benefit is derived from hygiene 
than from drugs, which are not so successful in opposing a 
disease the origin of which lies more in the mental and 
moral than in the ph^^sical region. Some means of diver- 
sion should therefore be devised to turn her imagination 
from seductive or unproper thoughts, such as constant 
mental and bodily occupation of some kind, travelling, new 
scenes and companions, etc. Ever3i;hing capable of pro- 
ducing erratic excitement should be studiously avoided. 
Frequent and prolonged warm baths, with cold affusions to 
the head, cold and sedative drinks, and light diet of 
cereals, poultry, milk, vegetables, and total abstinence 
from all stimulating drinks and food, from soft feather- 
beds, and all the enervating luxuries of modern civihzation, 
must be rigidly enjoined. 



HTSTERAI.GIA, OR IRRITABILE UTERUS. 

This disease is also known as neuralgia of the uterus, 
from the fact that those afflicted with irritability of the 
uterine reoion are more or less affected with neuraloia of 



94 Woman's Medical Companion. 

that organ. Dr. Goocli defines it as " a tender and painful 
state of the uterus, neither attended by nor tending to 
produce change in its structure." This disease occurs in 
females of every temperament, and maj' appear at au}^ time 
T\ithin the menstrual age ; the 3^oung and middle-aged, how- 
ever, are most subject to it, the aged being rarely attacked. 
This afiection, at times, is one of extreme suffering. 

SYMPTOMS. 

There is pain in the lower part of the abdomen and loins, 
which usually comes on a few daj^s before or after menstru- 
ation, and from which the jDatient is never quite free. It is 
subject to aggravations from mental excitement and bodily 
exertion ; hence the patient is induced to give way to the 
rehef afforded by repose. The result is, that, in conse- 
quence of the pain, want of exercise, and fresh air, the 
general health is broken, and a languid cii^culation, consti- 
pation, and dyspepsia are superinduced. 

Upon examination, the uterus is found tender from shght 
pressm^e. Sometimes the neck and bod}^ are slightlj' 
swollen, but not hard ; the mouth of the uterus and vagina 
are usuall}^ healthy. The disease may continue for months 
or 3^ears ; it may be subdued b}^ medical treatment, or it 
maj^ subside spontaneousl3^ It is a sm-e cause of barren- 
ness while it exists, but it does not terminate in organic 
disease of the uterus or endanger life. 

Leucorrhoea sometimes, though not alwa3's, accompanies 
this disease. It ma}" be distinguished from acute and chronic 
inflammation of the uterus by the absence of heat and throb- 
bing, and b}^ the long continuance and non-progressive 
character of the S3'mptoms, without apparent invasion or 
degeneration of the organ itself. It is distingiiishable from 
' ' painful and difficult menstruation " b}- the non-cessation 
of the pain, in greater or less degree, throughout the inter- 



TJie Marriageable Yoiuig Woman. 95 

veiling periods. It differs from displacements of the uterus 
and vagina b}^ the maintenance of those organs in their nat- 
ural position during this affection. From a comparison of 
this malad}^ with long-continued and painful affections of 
other parts of the frame, it must be inferred to be nervous. 
Thus, the breasts, the spine, and the various joints ma}^ be 
the seat of acute pain, which may endure for many j^ears 
without being accompanied b}^ organic change. 

The CAUSES of this disease are often obscure. The most 
prominent are : bodil}" exertion during menstruation or at 
too early a period after dehvery or abortion ; excessive 
coition, and an improper use of astringent injections. It 
niay also supervene on extreme fatigue, such as long jour- 
ne3's, dancing, dissipation, late hom's, etc. 

TREATMENT. 

There are few diseases so tedious of cure and liable to 
relapse as this. The indications are : first, to relieve the 
pain ; second, to restore the constitution to its nonnal con- 
dition. The violence of the pain must be alla^^ed b}' abso- 
lute rest during the parox3'sm, and narcotics, such as opium, 
h^^osc^'amus, etc. {Nos. 231, 256, 257), either alone or in 
combination with assafoetida. If the stomach be too irrita- 
ble, they will be found equall}^ as efficacious by injection 
into the vagina or rectum. Opium or belladonna plasters, 
or anodyne fomentations to the sacrum and abdomen are 
also useful. Counter-irritation should be practised by means 
of small blisters to the loins. Much relief will be afforded 
by vaginal injections of warm water alone, or aconite and 
belladonna if the pain be severe. The warm hip-bath will 
often give relief. The bowels should be kept open b}" the 
mildest possible means, as all active purgation in this dis- 
ease is invariably injmious. 

Although, during a severe i^aroxj^sm of pain, close con- 



96 Woman's Medical Companion. 

finement is indispensable in the horizontal posture, this 
should not prevent the patient from often being carried 
into the open air, and taking moderate carriage exercise, 
particularl}^ as soon as there is an abatement of the most 
violent S3'mptoms. A generous diet, — but not so as to 
burthen the stomach, — fresh air, and a gradual coui'se of 
tonic medicines (preparations of iron are preferable) are the 
best means of treating the constitutional condition accom- 
panjdng this obstinate disorder. (/See J^os. 317, 318, 319.) 

There is another affection of the uterus, much resembling 
this, which might be, perhaps, more properly named rheuma- 
tism of the tcomb. The plan of treatment is the same as 
above reconunended. 

There is a painful condition of the vagina frequently met 
with b}' the physician, analogous to the atfection of the 
uterus we have just described, and which may be termed 
Irritable Vagina. It is characterized bj" extreme tenderness 
when the lining membrane is touched by the finger, and a 
h3'steric attack not unfi^equentl}^ follows coitus. In some 
marriage develops this weakness ; in others, child-bearing, 
or both, become agents of development. The treatment is 
mainly the same as directed for hysteralgia. 

liEUCORRHCEA. 

Perhaps there is no single term in the whole catalogue of 
"woman's diseases" more undefined, more extensively 
misunderstood, or about which a greater amount of prac- 
tical ignorance exists than this. It is derived from two 
Greek words, signifj'ing " white discharge ;" and fully Jioe- 
sixths of the female population of all our large cities, 3'outli 
and adult, are afflicted with it. By the people generally 
the term is vaguely and indifferently applied to all non- 
sanguineous vaginal discharges, no matter what their char- 



The Marriageable Young Woman. 97 

acter or the diseased conditions of the organism from which 
they spring ; the natural consequence being much confusion 
and loose treatment on the part of the ph3-sician, and an 
untold amount of suffering, annoyance, and anxiety on the 
part of the patient. It will, therefore, be apparent to our 
readers that, in the treatment of this insidious and mys- 
terious affection, it is primarily essential that all conclu- 
sions should be based an an accurate knowledge, not only 
of its p^'mptoms, but of its seat. 

In popular phraseology, " leucorrhoea," " fluor albus," 
and "female weakness" mean the same disease, which is 
described as a light, colorless discharge from the genital 
organs, varjing in hue (according to its virulence or origin) 
from the n:iMte or colorless, mucilaginous, mucous discharge 
to the yellowish, light green, or slightly red and brownish 
exudation, differing in consistencj" from a thin and watery 
fluid to a thick, tenacious, ropy kind of substance, and 
fluctuating in quantity from an almost imperceptible increase 
of the healthy vaginal secretion to from one to six ounces 
during the twenty-four hours. 

Leucorrhoea may occur at any time of life, from earl}^ in- 
fancy to old age, but it is most frequently prevalent 
between the ages of fifteen and forty-five, or the change of 
life, seldom continuing after that period, except when it 
has its oriojin in some organic disease of the womb. In 
children afflicted with hereditar}" scrofula, it is often present 
prior to puberty, and even in infancy, materially inter- 
fering with, and in all probability causing retardation or 
suppression of, the menstrual function. As a rule, the 
leuchorrhoeal discharge is much more profuse at the men- 
strual period than at other times. 

Whether taken as a disease or as a symptom, it maj^, 
like all other diseases connected with the reproductive or- 
gans, be divided into two principal forms, — the acute and 



98 Woman^s Medical Co^npanion. 

the chronic ; the acute being nothing more nor less than an 
attack of inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the 
parts, whatever ma}' have been its cause. In a large ma- 
jority of cases it will be found to be nothing more than a 
catarrhal inflammation, occasioned by taking cold, which, if 
promptly- and resolutely treated, will speedily disappear. 
If neglected, unnoticed, or improperly treated, it neces- 
sarily passes into the chronic form, which is simply a 
continuation and aggravation of the acute form, and is fre- 
quently complicated with severe and obstinate inflammation 
of the adjacent tissues and ulceration of the neck of the 
womb. 

CAUSES. 

Many individuals en^oneously look upon leucorrhoea as 
the direct and immediate result of " general debihty," and 
most persons sufi'ering from the disease vainly imagine that 
if they could only get something to strengthen them they 
would be cured. Under this delusion manj^ a woman has 
dallied awaj^ valuable time and mone}' in taking successivelj", 
but b}' no means successfulh', the man}' strengthening bit- 
ters, universal panaceas, and nice-tasted, pretty-named nos- 
trums, advertised to regenerate and rejuvenate sufi'ering 
humanit}' generall3^ But this is a great, a sad, and a fearful 
mistake, by which human hfe has been risked, and the period 
of restoration to health indefinitely postponed. The debility 
is not the cause of the disease ; neither is the discharge. 
Both the discharge and debiht}' are simply the outward 
manifestation or result of some morbid action going on in 
some portion of the uterine organism. A\Tiat that disease is, 
or has been, which has given rise to these s^Tuptoms, can 
generally be ascertained b}' the nature of the discharge and 
the peculiarities which each particular case presents. For 
instance, there are three distinct varieties of discharge from 
the vagina alone : mucous^ purulent^ or matter}', and water}' ; 



The Marriageable Young Womajt. 99 

and there are morbid conditions capable of producing each 
of these evacuations. Inflammatory action is not absokitely 
necessary for the secretion of mucus, though it must exist 
where pus or matter is present. As both pus and mucous 
secretion is frequent!}^ found in the leucorrhoeal deposit, it is 
therefore essentially necessary that the true source of the 
various forms of the malady should be accurately ascer- 
tained, in order that it may be treated intelhgentl}^, and not 
bUndly. 

In far too many instances leucorrhoea has been treated and 
looked upon as a vaginal disease, pure and simple. With 
the ver}^ limited knowledge of its pathology which many 
physicians possess, it is no wonder that the}^ have fallen 
into the habit of treating it upon routine principles, and that 
the success of that treatment has been an3'tliing but flatter- 
ing. Nine out of every ten cases of leucoiTlioea have their 
origin in congestion^ inflammation^ or ulceration of the necJc 
of the uterus; and when the cause is removed — when this 
condition of the organ is terminated — the discharge entirely 
ceases, and the nervous and muscular derangements of the 
uterine apparatus soon give way to generous diet and tonic 
treatment, the organs being restored to their normal health 
and vigor. 

That leucorrhoea is hereditary is a fact too well substan- 
tiated to need comment ; man}" women, more especiall}' those 
possessing a lymphatic, nervous constitution, with soft flesh 
and pale in color, being hereditarily predisposed to uterine 
affections generally. With such persons, a cold, unsuitable 
diet, nightl}" dissipation of any kind^ tight lacing, and the 
various other indiscretions and reckless indulgences preva- 
lent among women of all classes and stations in life, would 
inevitabl}" result in a more or less aggravated attack of leu- 
corrhoea, as a sjTtiptom and sequela of some other affection ; 
while those differently constituted might commit the same 



100 Woman's Medical Companion. 

imprudences, but would be affected in a totally different 
manner. 

The immediate exciting causes of the disease include severe 
colds, sudden changes of atmosphere, sitting upon cold, 
damp seats, such as stone, gi'ass, earth, etc., exposure 
of the upper and lower extremities to cold air, A^iolence, 
excessive indulgence, tight lacing, encumbrance of the 
abdominal region and hips with weight}^ and tightened 
clothing, iiTitation from stimulating injections, inflammation 
of the rectum, hemorrhoids, miscarriages, abortions, uterine 
displacements, ulceration of the womb, tumors of various 
kinds, purgatives and emmenagogue medicines given for the 
purpose of hastening the menstrual discharge, warm injec- 
tions, the abuse of warm baths, late hours, excessive indul- 
gence in fish, flesh, or acid and watery fruits, the intemperate 
use of tea, coffee, and other so-called harmless, non-intoxi- 
cating beverages, and the uncontrolled indulgence in the 
depressing passions, — fear, grief, bad temper, etc. It 
is quite common in cold, damp climates, and especiallj' in 
the two extremes of society, the high and loiv, — those 
who are comj)elled to hve in narrow lanes and alle^^s and 
in basements, where the atmosphere is damp and fetid and 
loaded with noxious gases exhaled from decomposing 
masses of refuse, — and those who, living in the highest 
strata, revel in every luxurious indulgence : beds of down, 
soft cushions, highty-spiced food, deprived of all its nutri- 
tion, and social habits and amusements calculated to exhaust 
all their vitality and energy, have ruined their constitu- 
tions and secured to themselves quite as luxuriant a crop of 
uterine diseases as theu' less fortunate sisters who drag out 
a miserable existence at the opposite extreme of the social 
circle. 

A leucorrhoeal discharge is not unfrequently produced in 
young female children by the presence of pin-worms, which 



The Marriageable Young Woman, 101 

find their wa}' from the rectum to the vagina. In such cases, 
a removal of the worms is speedily followed by an abatement 
or disappearance of the discharge. It is alwa3's advisable, 
when httle girls are troubled with a discharge from or 
itching of the vagina and neighboring parts, to make a 
vigilant examination. I have frequently known children to 
be kept awake night after night from the irritation caused 
b}" the presence of two or three little worms just within the 
lips of the vagina. They can be easily removed with a httle 
piece of cloth. 

SYMPTOMS. 

In ver}' rare instances the vaginal discharge is the only 
s^^nptom noticed. As a rule, however, there is a miserable 
catalogue of aches and pains extending over the entire 
sj'stem. In fact, the constitutional sjonptoms, in many 
cases, are so distinctive that they are mistaken for the 
cause of the disease. The color of the skin, the bloated 
appearance of the face, the shortness of breath, constipation, 
moral and intellectual obtuseness, general debilit}^, etc., 
will all be mentioned by the patients in the enumeration of 
their aihnents, as separate ailments^ but not one word ars to 
their origin — the leiicorrJioeal discharges — will escape their 
lips. The duty of the physician as to vaginal examination 
under such circumstances is self-evident. 

As we have before said the color, quantity, and consis- 
tency of the discharge A'aries proportionately with the other 
constitutional indications, and also with the intensity of the 
affection which originates it. It is sometimes so copious as 
to require the same provisional protection as during the 
menstrual flow, and in some cases amounts to an actual 
flooding of the peculiar secretion, and is accompanied by the 
uneasiness, pain, and prostration felt at severe menstrual 
periods. 

In shght cases of catarrhal leucorrhoea, there is no irrita- 



102 Woma7i's Medical Companion. 

tion or excoriation of the parts ; the discharge is extremely 
mild, and bnt httle inconvenience is felt. In acute cases. 
those arising from colds, the usual indications of catarrhal 
inflaunnation — a sense of heat and soreness in the parts, a 
feehng of weight or heaviness, or a bearing-down pain, with 
languor and general feehng of weaiiness — are present. 
These s^-mptoms are sometimes accompanied with shght 
chills, pain in the back, quick pulse, thirst, high-colored 
lu'ine, and other febrile indications. Under these circmn- 
stances, if proper treatment is at once instituted, there will 
be but httle difficulty in subduing the s}"mptoms. and the 
organ speedil}' assumes its normal health and strength. 

If improperly ti'eated. and especially if astringent injec- 
tions and cathartic medicines have been used, the disease 
will most certainly become obstinate and chi'onic. the languor 
an(J debihty increase, the discharge become still more pro- 
fuse, pain and a general sense of heaviness in the abdomen 
be continuously felt, the digestion become impau-ed, and 
nausea, loss of appetite, headache, veitigo. palj)itation of 
the heart, weariness upon the shghtest exertion, and a host 
of *dyspepric symptoms, will soon manifest themselves. 
Ultimately, the disease will extend to and i^enetrate the 
womb ; congestion, inflammation, or iilceration take place ; 
the tissues become relaxed ; prolapsus uteri, or some similar 
affection of the uterus, follow, and a general increase of 
constitutional derangement supervene, which will declare 
itself by a loss of flesh and color, a quick, small pulse, the 
di'\Tiess or partial coatuig of the tongue, a constant aching 
jDain in the small of the back and about the hips, gi-eat ex- 
haustion and general debility, eruptions of small black- 
headed punples on the face and forehead, and the sinking 
of the eyes with a dark circle around them. The intel- 
lectual and moral faculties are always more or less weak- 
ened. 



The Marriageable Yoimg Woman. 103 

^ATien the discharge is purulent, fetid, and stained with 
streaks of blood, the affection causing it is evidentl}" of a 
serious character. As we have previously observed, simple 
leucorrhoea is, in itself, seldom, if ever, serious ; but there 
are so many uterine affections producing a discharge similar 
to that of leucorrhoea, that the person suffering therefrom 
should, for her own safet}^, comfort, and ease of mind, with- 
out delay place herself under the care of some intelligent, 
experienced medical practitioner. It is a disease, which, at 
the best, is difficult of cure, and the longer it is permitted 
to continue, the more obstinate it becomes, though a well- 
•directed and persistent course of treatment seldom fails to 
afford permanent relief. 

tbeatm:e:vt. 

We have endeavored to show that this disease has its 
origin in deep-seated causes, — nothing less than a positive 
abuse of the fundamental laws of nature. The intelligent 
physician well understands the absurdit}' of attempting by 
the administration of medicine alone to change the long- 
continued and unhealthy action of organs that have for 
3^ears failed to j)erform their natural functions, while the 
original cause of theu* derangement remains still in action. 
It is evident, therefore, that there is no alternative but that 
the woman must first perseveringlj^ retrace her steps and 
reform her errors of habit, etc., before there can be a 
gleam of hope of her ultimate restoration to health. She 
must first place herself, phj'sically and mentallj^, in a recep- 
tive condition for the remedial influences which are to be 
brought to bear upon her debilitated and disorganized S3's- 
tem. All the surrounding circumstances which may in any 
way tend to excite or aggravate the disease must be 
promptl}^ removed. All indulgences and luxuries., or exces- 
sfi'c use of necessaries, must be absolutely forbidden. Bod- 



104 Woman's Medical Co7itpanion. 

ily and mental excitement of all kinds must be avoided ; 
tiie diet must be regulated and strictly adhered to. The 
laios of nature as to hj'gienic and sanitaiy matters must 
be strictly observed and implicith^ obej-ed ; the food must 
be simple, nomishing, and as little stimulating as possible, 
and be taken at regular intervals; and tea or coffee, acid 
and watery fruits, absolutely abandoned. 

Moderate exercise in the open aii' will be most effectual 
in promoting the cm^e, though great care must be exercised 
in the avoidance of fatigue ; the clothing must be adjusted 
so as to admit of i^erfect freedom of motion, — the waist, 
especially, being free from all hgature. All exciting and 
depressing emotions should be avoided as far as possible. 
If the patient resides in a damp, low, or unheaMw district, 
she should be removed, at an}' rate for a time, to a drj', 
open, and healthy region, when such an arrangement is 
possible. 

These requisitions being comphed with, the medical rem- 
edies take theii' iDroper places, as alteratives, in arresting 
the disorder — being, of course, chosen in accordance with 
the indications given of the origin of the discharge. The 
most effective at present known are pulsatilla, sepia, alum- 
ina, calcarea carb., kreosotum, nitric acid, mercurius, coc- 
culus indicus, couium, sulphur, aud sihcea. {See Xos. 6, 
256, 257,258.) 

Most ph3'sicians speak highh* of water as a remedial agent 
in this disease, and experience has taught me that too high 
encomiums can hardl}' be awarded to it when judiciously em- 
plo3'ed. Under the head of " Causes of Leucorrhoea,". it 
will be remembered, I asserted that the disease was not 
unfrequentl}' occasioned b}' the use of water. This is true 
Some over-fastidious females are not content with cleansing 
their persons in the ordinar}' ^'^Ji but think it necessary 
{while in the most iierfect health) to s^Tinge themselves out 



The Marriageable Young Woman. 105 

once or twice per day with tepid or cold water. Vaginal 
injections during health are not onl}^ uncalled for, but, in 
some instances, positivel}^ injurious ; for, in its natural, 
healthy condition, the lining membrane of the vagina is 
kept constantl}" moistened by a mucous secretion. Now, an 
injection', even of simple water, washes away this secretion, 
and leaves the surface chy, in a condition easily irritated 
and prone to disease. Water is, unfortunately, not the 
onl}^ injection made use of, and cleanliness not the only 
pretext for its use, prevention of conception and abortion 
being frequently attempted by this means. With this mat- 
ter, however, we do not propose to deal at present, but 
simply to protest against the use 'of any injections in the 
healthy uterus. 

In any form of leucorrhoea, vaginal injections are of the 
gi^eatest importance ; and they are especiall}^ beneficial in 
cases where the discharge is acrid and causes excoriation 
of the parts. The water dilutes the secretion, and thus 
renders it less irritating, besides having a decided tendency 
to reestablish a health}?- functional action, as has been 
abundant!}^ proved b}" prompt recover}^ following its use in 
many cases. Cold hip-baths are also beneficial. Some 
extremely severe and obstinate cases have been entirety 
cured by the injection of a decoction of hamamelis virgin- 
ica into the vagina, the cavit}' having previously been thor- 
oughly cleansed with injections of warm water and castile 
soap, repeating the operation some three or fom' times 
per da}^. 

The imperative necessit}^ of immediate attention to leu- 
corhoeal or au}^ vaginal discharge, no matter how slight, is 
self-evident. Nine-tenths of our bed-ridden and chronic 
invalids of the female sex may directly trace their ailments 
to neglected leucorrhoea. It saps their very life-blood, de- 
stro3^s their ambition, prostrates them mentally as well as 



106 Woman's Medical Companion. 

pliysically^ and renders their existence a i^ositive calamity 
to themselves and to those b}' whom the}' are smTounded. 

Tlie Effects of Iie^icoiTlioea, 

if neglected or peiToitted to become clu-onic, are so disas- 
trous and fatal to the comfort, health, and happiness of 
the sufferer, that we take this opportunit}' to again impress 
upon the minds of our readers the imperative necessit}- for 
immediate attention to its first symptoms. As we have 
remarked, it saps the ver^' hfe-blood of the S3'stem, im- 
l)Overishes the tissues, reduces the once hale, healthy. 
hvely girl to a walking shadow, pale, emaciated, without 
vitaht}', weak, fi-agile, hj'sterical, and iDecuharh' susceptible 
to consmnption, fever, contagious diseases, etc. It deprives 
her of ever}' i^article of phj'sical or intellectual enjo^inent 
in this life ; it extinguishes all hope or ambition, and 
makes her wish for death as the onl}' avenue of escape 
from her j)ain and trouble. 

Anaemia means ^oi'e?% of the blood. There are a variet}' 
of causes which produce this condition, such as haemor- 
rhage, exhausting diseases, blood-poisoning, and confine- 
ment within doors, from sedentar}' employment, etc. The 
s3Tnptoms are paleness of countenance, debilit}', nervous- 
ness, and nervous palpitation of the heart. This disease is 
ver}' apt to be confounded with purely nervous diseases, 
such as chlorosis or neurasthenia. Anaemia is essentialh' a 
disease of the blood; chlorosis is an affection of the nervous 
S3'stem. One may cause the other, and the}' are frequently 
associated. Both are especialh' liable to occui' to 3'oung 
giiis and bo3's at the age of pubertj'. 

TREATMENT. 

The treatment of anaemia is important, for the reasons we 



TJie Marriageable Yoiuig Woman. 107 

have given. Electrization, a course of tonics, and a gener- 
ous dietaiy, calculated to build up the constitution, are all 
needed, and produce the most satisfactory results. But 
above and beside all these restorative and recuperative rem- 
edies, a?'r, sunlight^ and exercise are absolutely essential to 
the restoration of the patient to a vigorous and healthy con- 
dition. Abundant and nourishing food, such as meat, beef- 
tea, fresh eggs, bread, etc., and plenty of sleep ^ are the 
most effective auxiharies to nature's efforts. {^See Nos. 
156,157, 158, 159.) 

^AJVGIiVA PECTORIS, OR IVETTRAI^GIA OF THE HEART, 

is an affection to which 3'oung women (especially those 
brought up in our large cities) are peculiarl}^ liable. It is a 
strictl}' nervous disease, and begins with a sense of pain 
and constriction in the region of the heart. This is ac- 
companied with more or less pain and numbness in the left 
arm. In women it is not uncommon for it to be attended 
with great sensitiveness and pain of the breasts. When 
the attack is violent, the pain in the heart is excruciating 
and even terrific. There is attending this a feeling of great 
oppression in the chest, amounting, in the severest cases, to 
a sense of suffocation. The heart palpitates violent^, the 
brain is oppressed, and fainting sometimes occurs. 

The disease is brought on, in nervous persons, b}^ over- 
excitement. Walldng up-hill against a strong wind, ma}' 
bring it on. If wallving at the time of the attack, the pa- 
tient is compelled to stop and stand still till the pain sub- 
sides. The disease is often connected with organic changes 
in the heart's structm-e, such as ossification and othei Alter- 
ations. 

TREATMEI^T. 

^\Tien the affection is connected with organic disease of 
the heart, remedial measures must, of com-se, be directed 



108 • Woman's Medical Companion. 

to the cure of that disease. To reheve a severe attack, the 
patient must be placed in a recumbent, quiet position ; wind 
in the stomach, if present, must be expelled by ginger, 
peppermint, ether, or some aromatic. If there is acidity 
or sourness of the stomach, it must be corrected by a tea- 
spoonful of soda in a half-tumbler of water ; and if the 
stomach is full of undigested food, let the patient take a 
tablespoonful of ground mustard, stirred up with a teacup- 
ful of warm water. This will cause almost instant vomit- 
ing. These things having been done, give some quieting 
or antispasmodic medicines. Great relief is sometimes 
afforded by sending a magnetic cmTcnt through the regio?i 
of the heart, by applying one pole of the machine in front 
and the other on the vertebral column. During the inter- 
vals the general health is to be improved b}^ a wholesome, 
nourishing diet, gentle out-door exercise, and a careful con- 
trol of the passions. (/S'ee Nos, 302, 303, 304, 305.) 



Derangements of the Menstrual Function, 109 



CHAPTEE YI. 

DERANGEMENTS OF THE MENSTRUAL 
FUNCTION. 

AMENORRHCEA, OR SUPPRESSIOIV OF THE MEWSES. 

There is natiirall}^ a considerable amount of confusion 
and error engendered in the minds of our women by the 
CommingUng of the two affections or conditions; viz., the 
retardation and the suppression of tlie menstrual flow. 
The menstrual function ma}^ be retarded in its operation by 
imperfect development, by local obstructions of a tempor- 
ary character, by a chronic affection of some adjacent or- 
ganism, or by congenital malformation, in either of which 
cases the exertions of the patient herself, her guardians, 
and her medical adviser must be directed to the invigoration 
of the s^^stem in general, and to the development of the 
uterine S3'stem in particular. Where the obstruction arises 
from malformation, surgical interference will obviously be 
necessary" ; but on no account should the artificial hastening 
of the flow be attempted by the administration of emmena- 
gogues, such as ergot, savin, etc. But we will now pro- 
ceed to the consideration of amenorrhoea. 

Amenorrhoea is that condition wherein the menstrual 
function, after having being established for a longer or 
shorter period, has been arrested, without being interrupted 
by pregnane}", nursing, or old age. This may happen at 
any period of menstrual life, and it may take place sud- 
denly or very gradually ; in other words, it may be acute or 
chronic. 



110 Woman's Medical Companion, 

CAUSES. 

Acute AmenorrhcBa is caused by sudden exposure 
to the cold and damp air, immersion of the feet or hands in 
cold water ; cold ablutions of the genital organs ; sitting 
upon the ground, etc., during the menstrual term; the 
eating and drinking of ices and very cold drinks, especially 
while the body is in a state of violent perspiration ; violent 
bleeding ; the application of a large bUster ; the employment 
of purgatives or emetics, and strong perfumes or odors ; the 
act of coition during the flow, or the setting-up of any 
fever or severe disease at that period. Also, a severe bodily 
or mental shock received just previous to or during the^ 
period of the discharge, or the exercise of vivid emotions, 
such as anger, love, jealousy, immoderate joy, sudden fright, 
disappointment or grief ; all circumstances tending to sud- 
den determination of the blood in a contrary direction to 
the uterus, ma}^ give rise to this condition. The most com- 
mon cause, however, is the application, in some way or 
other, of cold to the feet. The majority of women pay so 
little regard to this period that the}^ are continual^, even 
hourly, exposed to derangements from this cause alone by 
standing in thin shoes, sitting upon damp, cold ground, 
going too lightly clothed, and dabbling in water, etc. Some 
indeed are so utterly reckless as to deliberately bathe their 
feet in cold water during their menstrual flow, in order 
that, b}" so arresting it, they ma}^ be enabled to keep a prior 
engagement to a ball or part3\ Such criminal acts as these, 
however, bring speedy and severe punishment with them. 

SYMPTOMS. 

These are extremely variable, but most commonly there 
is fever, with a sensation of heat, weight, and pain in the 
pelvis, uterine colic, disagreeable tension of the loins and 
upper part of the thighs, enlargement of the breasts and 



Derangements of the Menstrual Function. Ill 

abdomen, lassitude, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headache, 
ringing in tlie ears, frequent palpitations, scalding urine, 
etc. Or there ma}" be s3"mptoms of local inflamma- 
tions either of the lungs, brain, intestinal canal, or of the 
uterus itself. Occasionall}^, instead of inflammation there 
are severe neuralgic pains of tlie womb, or a species of 
h3'steria simulating inflammation, and changing from one 
organ to another as soon as remedies are brought to bear 
upon it. Attacks of apoplexy and paralj^sis have also been 
known to result from sudden suppression, as also aphonia, 
or loss of voice, curious derangements of vision, and cuta- 
neous disorders. These secondar}" attacks ma}^ be mitigated 
'in severit}' by the occurrence of vicarious menstruation^ or 
discharge of blood from some other part of the uterine 
region, by which the temporary plethora is removed without 
an}" return of the uterus to a normall}^ healthy condition ; 
or b}" uterine leucorrJioea, which appears to afford relief; and 
more naturall}", since there is a sort of action of the uterus 
which, though faulty, seems preferable to a condition of 
perfect indiff'erence and lethargy. On account of the sec- 
ondar}" attacks to which it gives rise, sudden suppression is 
a much more serious disorder than any other form of men- 
strual derangement. 

TREATMEIVT. 

There can generally be no difficult}^ in ascertaining the 
fact of suppression : if in an}" cases there should be any 
doubt as to their nature, they should at first be treated as 
simply inflammatory. Attempts are sometimes made by 
unmarried females, with the view of avoiding exposure of 
character, to deceive physicians in reference to one of the 
causes of menstrual suppression. The experienced physi- 
cian needs no caution on this point, but we will, for the in- 
formation of oiu' readers, give a more detailed account of 



112 Woina7i's Medical Companion. 

its dangerous and malefic influence, in our chapter on Abor- 
tion and Miscarriage. 

The acute form is more easily cured than the chronic. 
Our first endeavor should be to efi'ect a resumption of the 
menstrual discharge ; and for this purpose the patient should 
take a warm bath, or put the feet into warm water, and take 
a bowl of warm gruel. Rest in bed is absolutel}^ necessary, 
and warmth should be applied to the legs and thighs hj 
means of hot flannels or bottles filled with warm water, 
or cloths saturated with tm-pentine and warm water. 
Gentle pm^ging will also be found useful ; but if it be induced 
to any extent, it will necessarHj^ defeat its own object, as 
copious discharges of any kind, b}-- relieving the constitu-' 
tion, to a certain extent supersede menstruation, and pre- 
vent effort on the part of the uterus. Should this course 
fail after reasonable perseverance, and a state of congestion 
prevail, relief will be obtained b}' loss of blood. If 
adopted in the earher stages of the malad}', it will, in all 
probability, prevent the local disorders to which we have 
refeiTed ; but when they do arise, the}^ must, of course, 
receive the treatment usual for the specific diseases. The 
hysterical afi'ection of the different organs should be com- 
bated with what are called antispasmodic medicines, such 
as assafoetida, musk, camphor, etc. {See Nos. 213 or 214.) 
If colic be present, the most certain relief will be found in 
aloes and m^Trh, in their several combinations, till the 
bowels are opened. {See Nos. 118, 119, 120, 121.) 

Upon the approach of the next period, gi-eat attention 
should be given to the patient, and ever}^ means used to 
facihtate the natural secretion. The bowels should be kept 
open, the surface comfortably warm, and the hip or foot 
bath used alternate nights. The strength, if necessar}^, 
must be supported by a generous, but not stimulating diet. 

If, at the proper time, the menses should be reestabhshed. 



Derangements of the Menstrual Ftcnctioji. 113 

onr object will be accomplished ; but if merely a white dis- 
charge appear in its stead, we must again, during the inter- 
val, put into action all those means mentioned in the treatment 
of the tard}^ appearance of the menses. If the white dis- 
charge persist during the interval, it must be treated simply 
as Icucorrhoea. But if no discharge appear, neither red nor 
white, recourse must be had to those means and remedies 
which we shall prescribe in our next section for chronic 
suppression of menses, according to the condition of the 
patient. 

CHKOXIC SIJPPR3ESSI01V OF THE MEIVSES 

may be the consequence of an acute attack, arising from 
neglect or improper treatment, or it may be caused by 
gradual depression of the bodily powers, giving rise to deh- 
cate health. It may also arise from diseases of the ovaria, 
uterus, and other parts of the body, as inflammation, indura- 
tion, ulceration, hydatids, etc., of the uterus and its ap- 
pendages ; anteversion, retroversion, and complete prolapsus 
of the womb. It ma}' also be the sequela of pulmonary con- 
sumption, disease of the heart, scrofula, particularly of the 
bones, inflammation of the brain or spinal marrow, the 
stomach, spleen, liver, lungs, pleura or peritoneum, or any 
irritation in the sj^stem which retains the blood and prevents 
it from being dkected upon the uterus. 

The quantit}' of the secretion ma}' gTaduall}' diminish, and 
the time become irregular and uncertain, till at length the 
uterus altogether ceases to act ; or, which is perhaps more 
frequent, the menses diminish in quantity and become of a 
paler color, with shorter intervals, until leucorrhoea becomes 
permanentl}' estabhshed in its stead. 

SYMPTOMS. 

The Symptoms which arise from chronic suppression are 



114 Woman's Medical Companion. 

various, being often the same (though less marked) as those 
mentioned under acute suppression. The features of the 
3^oungTroman, heretofore briUiant with freshness and health, 
are observed to assume the impress of feebleness, depression, 
and languor ; the roses upon the countenance fade, the fire 
of her ej^es is extinguished, and a dark cu'cle surrounds 
them ; finally, the most frequent sjnnptoms are habitual 
headache, dyspnoea, dizziness, pains in the back, sides, 
limbs, and joints; deficient appetite, and a general failure 
of the Adtal powers, ending in a confirmed state of ill-health. 
The moral alteration is equall}^ great ; sometimes there is 
an excessive sensibilit}^, which renders the sufferer impatient 
and ii-ascible ; at others, her ideas are sad, her imagination 
sombre ; sometimes the patient seeks for sohtude and sheds 
causeless tears ; again, on the contrary-, she becomes pas- 
sionately fond oflnusic and amusements of all kinds. The 
general health rarely suffers before three or four successive 
periods have passed, unless it be accompanied by consider- 
able leucorrhoea. 

If the menses do not occur after suckling, and the health 
of the individual appears to suffer, an examination into the 
parts should be instituted to ascertain their condition. 
There may be an obstruction or obliteration of some por- 
tion of the canal in the neck or mouth of the uterus or of 
the vagina, in consequence of inflammation following dehv- 
er}^ The introduction of the finger will satisfy as regards 
the vagina, but the permeability through the neck of the 
uterus can only be determined b}^ passing up a moderate- 
sized bougie (a slender gum elastic instrument). 

Some care is necessary to distinguish between chronic 
suppression and pregnancy^ as the patient, if she be in a 
position to have children creditably, may mistake the sup- 
pression for the first symptoms of pregnancy. The arrest 
of the menses, when occasioned b^^ conception, is shortly 



Derangements of the Menstrtcal Function. 115 



breasts, etc. 

The remedies for this form of suppression will vaiy ac- 
cording to the cause which has given rise to it, and the 
state of the sj'stem generall3\ When it is consequent upon 
disease of the genital organs, or some other part of the 
bod}", we shall find that, upon the patient's recovery 
from such disease, the menstrual flow will generall}^ return. 
When the menses have been superseded by leucorrhoea the 
proper treatment of it will generally restore the uterine 
functions. 

The reader will readil}" perceive, from our previous re- 
marks, that ever}" deviation from menstrual regularity does 
not necessarily demand medical interference, for in many 
cases of earl}^ menstruation, and indeed with young girls 
generall}", there will, at first, be considerable irregularity, 
which must not be mistaken for disease. This may also be 
the case with hearty, robust 3"0ung women, in whom a tem- 
porary suspension may be caused by cold, excessive passion, 
or mental emotion, — the flow voluntarily resuming its 
proper course, after a time, without artificial aid. The rule 
with the medical practitioner on this point should be, never 
to interfere^ unless there he some tangible evidence that the 
health is suffering from the absence of this discharge. 

TREATMEIVT. 

In chronic suppression the general health is rarely invaded 
for the first three or four months of the aff*ection ; up to that 
period the treatment should be purely hygienic; that is, 
strict obedience to the phj^siological laws, in the proper reg- 
ulation of diet, exercise, proper clothing, well-ventilated 
apartments, avoidance of all excess in passions, amuse- 
ments, and food and beverages ; strict cleanliness, the 
avoidance of all those modern luxuries and indulgences 



116 Woman^s Medical Companion. 

which predispose the sj^stem to disease, and, more than all, 
a careful selection of associates and pursuits, and a strict 
adherence to the higher law of moralit}', without which the 
most careful physical and intellectual development is worse 
than useless. If we find that the i^ulse manifests a tend- 
ency to excess of action, the treatment should be com- 
menced with such remedies and regimen as will reduce it to 
a proper standard, before we proceed to the use of medicines 
which have a direct tendency to produce the menstruous dis- 
charge, such as slight bleeding, the application of leeches to 
the Tulva, etc., pm-ging, and a strict vegetable diet. Under 
such circumstances, coloc^mth will answer admirably in doses 
of two teaspoonfuls twice per da3^ After these remedies ' 
have been persevered in for a time, tincture of cantharides 
or guaiacum, with a small quantity of opium, ma}^ be ad- 
ministered, not more than ten drops, in a tablespoonful of 
water, at a time, and applications of the electro-magnetic 
batter}' may prove serviceable in cases where aU. other 
means have failed. This last is, however, a powerful rem- 
ed}^, which should be emplo^^ed verj^ cautiously, lest it may 
depress the nervous sj'stem, and thus protract the disease ; 
when moderatel}' applied, it often rouses into activit}' the 
energ}^ of torpid organs and functions, but when used to 
excess, it may altogether destro}' their excitability. It 
should not be emploj'ed in cases of local congestion or gen- 
eral plethora, nor during pregnane}^, and should seldom, if 
ever, be used alone. 

In man}' cases of suppression, the flow ma}- be reestab- 
lished b}' the application of simple counter-irritants, stimu- 
lating poultices, liniments, etc., to the groins, over the 
ovaries ; with scrofulous constitutions the sirups and tinc- 
tures of iodine and the various preparations of iron have 
proved effective, and aloes, mjTrh, turpentine, sa^in, and 
the sulphates, carbonates, and citrates of iron (as given 



Derangements of the Mejistrual Fimction. 117 

in Prescriptions 6, 8, 118, 119, 120, 306, 307, 308) are ex- 
tremeh' useful when judiciously applied. 

Ver3'feTr of the remedies wc have just enumerated, except 
the u'on and iodine, are applicable to patients of feeble, 
nervous, or Ij'mphatic temperaments, or who are constitu- 
tionalh' scrofulous, until their general health has become rees- 
tablished. Change of scene and occupation, the enhvening 
influences of the social circle, music, and a judicious varia- 
tion of the scenes and surroundings, so as not to create ab- 
normal excitement, will prove the most efficient auxilia- 
ries in the restoration of the patient to health. 

As a last resom'ce for the gM or 3'oung woman laboring 
under obstinate suppression of the menstrual flow, marriage 
has been recommended b}" man}" eminent ph3^sicians from 
the tune of Hippocrates to the present da}" ; but we should 
have considerable hesitation in indorsing the recommend- 
ation or advising such a course ; as, apart from the moral 
aspect of the question, i\iQ physical uncertaint}" of the result 
would not compensate for the risk. We should advise 
that, whenever practicable, the sufferer from chronic sup- 
pression should remove to a fresh and dry atmosphere (pre- 
ferring mountainous localities) ; we should also recommend 
the use of nourishing food, such as rich soups, hght meats, 
etc., bitter infusions and gentl}' excitant beverages, mineral 
waters, dr}' friction, flannel underclothing, cold bathing and 
swimming, pedestrian and equestrian exercise, healthful 
games, calisthenics, gymnastics, etc. In conclusion, we 
would remark, that the moral condition of the patient 
merits as close an attention as the medical treatment. If 
we neglect to attend to the state of the mind, menstrual 
disorders, depending upon certain mental conditions, such 
as profound dejection, resist all the resources of the healing 
art ; the}" are generally powerless in remedying the malady 
in a young woman who is tormented b}" a disappointed or 



118 Woman's Medical Companion. 

unfortunate love. It is to the persuasive eloquence and 
counsels of friendship, the consolations of a prudent, en- 
hghtened mother, and especially the gratification of the 
affections by marriage, ii:lien there is not extreme prostra- 
tion^ that we are to look, in these cases, for the arrest of 
the disease at its soui'ce. 

VICARIOUS ME]VSTRirATIO:V. 

In cases of suppressed menstruation, where the monthly 
menstrual effort occurs without secretion on the part of the 
uterus, and where the sj^stem generalises suffering from 
the consequent plethora or hregular distribution of blood, 
an attempt is made b}^ the natm-al powers to afford relief by 
a discharge of blood from some other part, generally one 
which is alread}^ diseased or enfeebled. This is called 
vicarious menstruation, and has been known to take place 
from the nostrils, eyes, ears, gums, lungs, stomach, arm- 
pits, bladder, nipples, toes, fingers, from the stumps of 
amputated limbs, from ulcers, and from the sm^face of the 
skin generall}^ The mucous membranes, however, of the 
the lungs, stomach, and intestines, are the most common 
seats of the discharge. This discharge generall}' comes on 
suddenly, and continues at intervals for several daj^s. In 
most cases, it seems to reheve the constitutional distress 
consequent upon suppression, but does not promote the 
natural establishment of the function during the interval. 
In general, it is not followed b}^ more serious consequences 
than those resulting from the loss of blood. The most 
dangerous form is when it proceeds from the lungs. 

TREATMEIVT. 

The same may be said of vicarious menstruation as of sup- 
pression, — that medication for the symptom is often worse 
than useless ; the real object being to rid the system of the 



Derangements of the Menstrual Function. 119 

cause, and not merel3'the effect. Our desire is not so much 
to compel the return of the menstrual flow, as to cure the pa- 
tient of that disordered condition of her sj^stem which led up 
to the suppression. In the words of the eminent Dr. Wm. 
Hunter : " "With regard to the management of the menses, 
mj opinion is that you should pay no regard to them, but 
endeavor to put her to rights in other respects. If jon 
cure the other disorders, jou. can cure the irregularity of 
the menses, which is the consequence and not the cause of 
her complaints." Taken as a whole, the remedies pre- 
scribed, and the hj^gienic and other regulations given for 
amenorrhoea, are equall}^ applicable and efficacious in this 
form of menstrual derangement. {Nos. 118,119,120). 

MENORRHAGIA, OR EXCESSIVE MENSTRUATIOIV. 

Menstruation may continue too long, or occur too often, 
or be too profuse while it lasts ; or all these irregularities 
ma}' be experienced by the same person. Any one of them 
will prove a serious irritation and a drain upon the consti- 
tution : the whole together, if not arrested, will undermine 
and destroy it. 

The cause of this, as of all other female diseases, is in a 
gi'eat majority of cases overlooked. It is not to be attri- 
buted, as so man}' suppose, to a congested state of the 
womb, but is usually the result of the inflammatory or 
ulcerated condition of the uterine neck. In a still larger 
number of cases it arises from a succession of ovarian 
abortions. When the blood has run low, and nutrition is 
defective, as in persons of a consumptive habit, the ovarian 
vesicles fail to reach maturity. Like other products of the 
uterine economy, the}" become blighted and abort. And, as 
these blights occur often, nature is busy every two or three 
weeks in casting them off. Hence, the excessive and fre- 



120 Woman's Medical Companion. 

— ■ =« ^ 

quentl}' repeated flow. The}' come and go irregiilarty, and 
without order, because they spring from processes dkectly 
in contravention of nature's laws. 

It is not easy to explain how inflammation and ulceration 
of the uterine neck should in one case produce suppression 
and in another profuse menstruation. Yet it is a self- 
evident truth that such opposite results do come from one 
and the same apparent cause. Probably the explanation is 
to be found in the difl'erent degrees of inflammatory action, 
in the varieties of constitution, and in the various degrees 
of tenacit}^ with which the vessels hold the blood. Bleeding 
from the genital organs may be produced by a variet}'' of 
causes which have nothing to do with menstruation. Suctf 
hemorrhages are properl}" uterine or vaginal hemorrhages^ 
and not jDrofuse menstruation. The}' are the result of yi- 
flammations or tumors within the uterine neck, or of consti- 
tutional weakness. The womb ma}^ bleed for da^^s, or even 
for months, from pure debilit}'. 

As the normal quautit}' of fluid discharged at the monthly 
evacuation varies in different women, menorrhagia only 
exists where there is a disproportion between the loss and 
the power of replacing it. It is the relative^ and not the 
absolute quantity lost which constitutes the disease, so that 
seeming derangement should ovXj be considered excessive 
menstruation when it has an injurious efi'ect upon the gen- 
eral health. 

We shall include ever}-^ variet}' of menorrhagia under two 
gi'eat divisions, principalh' in reference to their severit3\ 
In the first division are those characterized b}' a sudden 
gush from the vagina, suddenly ceasing for a few hours, 
and then again recurring, pursuing this intermittent course 
throughout the entire period of menstruation. On the 
other hand, sometimes the discharge goes on regularly, but, 
instead of being over in three or four da^'s, lasts for ten 



Derangements of the Menstrual Function. 121 

da3's, a fortnight, or even three weeks ; or it may return, in 
its usual quantit}^, ever}^ two or three weeks ; this last va- 
riety, more frequently than the other, being connected with 
that condition of the lining membrane of the uterus which 
gives rise to leucorrhoea. In this condition, there may be 
more or less discharge of dots of blood along with the proper 
secretion, though it rarely occurs in young or unmarried 
women. The subjects of it are generally women of a 
torpid or sluggish temperament, whose constitutions have 
been impaired by disease or frequent childbearing. One or 
two small clots appear at first, at short intervals, return- 
ing each time in increased quantity. It is not known, in 
these cases, whether the discharge is altered in quantity or 
quaht}^ 

SYMPTOMS. 

These are : languor, exhaustion, weakness across the loins 
and hips, paleness of the countenance, headache, ringing in 
the ears, and giddiness ; these occur, to a greater or less 
extent, in the slighter cases. If the disease continues, and 
especiall}^ if leucorrhoea be present, all these s^onptoms be- 
come ver}^ much aggTavated — the languor increases, the face 
becomes sallow, there is an aching pain across the loins, 
extending around the abdomen, repeated and severe head- 
aches, and derangement of the stomach and bowels ; and, 
fiuall}^, there is extreme exhaustion, with a feeble pulse, 
melancholy, nervous sjnnptoms, ending in dropsy and even 
epilepsy. A prominent cause, in this ph3^sic-taking com- 
munity, of this as well as many other ills to which woman 
is heir, is the enormous amount of quack pills and patent 
medicines of every variety of form and name. These 
so-called medicines contain, for the most part, ingredients 
that operate violently upon the lower part of the intestines 
adjacent to the uterus, thus determining an excessive 



122 Woman^s Medical Companion. 

quantity of blood to that organ, besides debilitating the 
bowels and frequently producing piles. 

At a more advanced i^eriod of life, the most frequent 
exciting causes of menorrhagia are childbearing and pro- 
tracted nursing of children, a practice which is extensively 
carried on among the poorer classes for the avowed purpose 
of preventing a too rapid increase of the family. This result 
it achieves very effectually, when it gives rise to this dis- 
order, but at the untold expense of great loss of health and 
extreme suffering on the part of the unhappy woman. Tlx- 
cessive coition is another very prolific source of menorrhagia, 
and always aggravates the disease. In the severer cases, . 
conception does not take place, though it not unfrequently 
does in the milder forms. Menorrhagia ma}" or may not 
return after parturition, but it necessaril}" predisposes the 
woman to abortion and miscarriage in subsequent preg- 
nancies, and, from the excessive relaxation of the i3arts, 
is largety productive of falling of the womb and vagina. 

TBEATMEIVT. 

The primary object is, of course, to remove the cause of 
the affection if possible. If it arise from excessive nursing, 
the child should at once be weaned, and marital intercourse 
should, for a time, be suspended. In any case, she should - 
be kept perfectly quiet upon her back ; cloths, wrung out in 
cold water, should be laid over the uterus, vulva, and thighs ; 
cold, acidulated drinks, such as iced lemonade, solution of 
elixir of vitriol in ice-water, etc., should be given freel}-, 
and the introduction of all warm fluids into the sj'stem 
strict!}' forbidden. The bed-chamber should be kept cool, 
and the foot of the bed raised about ten inches or one foot 
above the level ; opium, or some similar soporific adminis- 
tered, and all conversation prohibited ; and gallic acid, ergot, 
or (especiall}') cannabis indica (in 5 to 10 drop doses), be 



Derangements of the Mensti'ttal Fimction. 123 

given internall}". If local pains of a continnous or sharp, 
energetic character exist, belladonna or opium plasters may 
be placed over the seat of distress with great advantage. 
Salt-water sponge-baths, daily, specially apphed to the 
lower extremities, will do much towards relieving the weak- 
ness in the loins and spinal column. Tonics, especially 
preparations of iron, should be freely given. If the patient 
be of sanguine temperament, the diet should be almost ex- 
clusively vegetable. Tea and coffee, feather-beds, foot- 
stoves, and stimulating food or drinks must be entirely 
avoided. If of a lymphatic temperament, the diet should 
» be generous ; but everji^hing tending to excitement of the 
uterine sj^stem should be carefully prohibited. The invalid 
should live in a cby atmosphere, and very moderate exercise 
should be taken throughout the interval. No melancholy 
companions should be allowed to visit her, and all mental 
emotion should be strictl}" avoided. {See also No. 272.) 

METRORRHAGIA. 

In the second division of menorrhagia, or Metrorrhagia., 
as it is usually called, the discharge is more profuse, and its 
effects more severe than in the first ; and it is accompanied 
by alterations in the condition and size of the mouth of the 
uterus, occurs at a later period of life, and is much more 
difficult of cm-e. 

SYMPTOMS. 

The attack commences much in the same way as in the 
milder form, but not so suddenly, and is not confined 
to any particular temperament, though it is more 
frequently found in the sanguine than in the debihtated 
or melancholic. It rarely appears before the fortieth 
3'ear, or after the cessation of the menstrual flow or change 
of life.. There is, for some time previous to the attack, 



124 Woman's Medical Companion. 

irregularity in the time, quantity, and dui'ation of the 
menstrual periods, with occasional attacks of leucorrhoea 
duiing the intervals. TVTien the menses have flowed natu- 
rally for about twenty-four hoiu's, the bloody discharge 
appears ; large clots are expelled, and there is a considera- 
ble increase in the fluid discharged. At the inception of 
the affection, the dm^ation of the attack is not more than 
eight or ten days ; but in long-standing cases, it not unfre- 
quently extends throughout the entke intra-menstrual period. 
The quantity lost is sometimes very large, producing exces- 
sive exhaustion and weakness of the loins, a sense of weight 
or pain in the pelvis, difficulty in discharging mine, great 
depreciation of general health, excessive constipation, 
blanching of the countenance, and nervous and muscular 
prostration or anaemia. 

The exact change in the uterus and its appendages re- 
sulting from this condition is not known in detail, but ex- 
amination reveals the mouth low down in the peMs, the 
neck more or less swollen, and tilted forward so as to press 
ui)on the bladder, thus producing the affection we have 
described. There is sometimes tenderness upon pressure in 
the neck and body of the uterus, the vessels of which are 
e^identl}- verj' much congested or engorged with blood, so 
that the discharge is not the result of secretion, but of the 
rupture of some of the vascular twigs which ramif}^ the 
hning membrane of the uterus. The disease, unless the 
organic changes are very considerable, is not usuall}' obsti- 
nate ; it ma}' subside by sldlful treatment, or possibly' spon- 
taneoush' in three or four months, or ma}' continue as man}' 
vears. 

CAUSES. 

These are much the same as in the milder afi'ection akeady 
noticed, those most subject to the disease being women who 
live indolent lives, yield too readily to the passions and 



Derangements of the Menstrual Function. 125 

emotions of the mind, dance inordinately, and keep late 
hours, who are in the habit of tight lacing, and adopting 
other fashionable absurdities of costume, who take httle or 
no exercise, are intemperate in the use of stimulants and 
hot drinks, as tea, coffee, etc., and who are too i^rodigal of 
marital privileges. 

This description of excessive menstruation is easily dis- 
tinguished from the flow of blood arising from organic 
diseases of the uterus, as corroding ulcers, cancers, x)ol}7:»i, 
etc., b}^ the irregularit}^ of its occurrence in these diseases, 
and its persistence after the usual period of this excretion 
» has expu'ed. 

TREATMENT. 

At first, the remedial measures we have alread}^ mentioned 
should be perseveringly employed ; and if the}^ are found 
ineffective, as is frequently the case, the use of ergot and 
other similar remedies must be resorted to ; it may be given 
in doses of five to ten grains, three times per day. During 
an attack the patient should be kept in a state of perfect 
rest, on a hard mattress, covered rather lightly with bed- 
clothes. All her drinks should be cool and unstimulating, 
unless she become faint, when a small quantity of wine or 
brandy may be permitted. At the same time that the ergot 
is given, cold must be persistently applied to the lower 
extremities by means of the douche or wet cloths. The 
precaution of keeping the feet warm should alwa3'S be ob- 
served. If the discharge is not arrested, it is a matter of 
serious consideration how far the use of injections of cold 
water and astringent solutions may be permitted prior to 
its entu'e cessation, considerable danger attending their use 
during the period of attack. As soon as the discharge has 
ceased, curative measures should at once be taken to eradi- 
cate the disease of which this exudation is so formidable a 
S}Tnptom. We have found the repeated application of 



126 Woman's Medical Companion. 

blisters to be veiy efficient in diminishing or suppressing the 
discharge ; and, in our later experience, belladonna plasters 
have proved specially effective in the removal of pain from 
the affected region, the swelhng of the uterus rapidly 
diminishing, the leucorrhosa disappearing, and the parties 
being able to walk about with comparative ease. (^See No. 
272.) 

The patient is alwaj's hable to a relapse, consequently she 
should permit two or three menstrual periods to elapse, tak- 
ing the same precautions and adopting the same medicinal 
and h3'gienic regulations, so that her health shall be 
thoroughly reestabhshed, before she resumes her ordinary 
routine of duties. Should a relapse unfortunately occur, 
the s3'mptoms must be met again by the same treatment and 
regimen as before. Dming the intervals, the treatment di- 
rected under the primar}^ or milder form of the affection, 
must be strictly observed. The bowels must be kept free, 
witJiout purging^ and tonics, mineral waters, liberal, nutri- 
tious diet, moderate exercise in the open air, and freedom 
from undue mental and bodily excitement must be rigidly 
adhered to as the rule of hfe. 



I>YSME]¥ORRH<EA, OB PAUVFTJIi MEIVSTRUATIOIV. 

This is one of the most distressing and agonizing forms 
of menstrual derangement to which women are subject, its 
most prominent featm-e being the pain^ which begins three 
or four da^^s in advance of the evacuation, and continues 
uninterruptedly throughout the term. These pains extend 
through the loins and over the entire surface of the abdomen, 
and run down to the thighs. The}' var}' considerably' in 
character and intensity, according to the constitution of the 
individual ; the}^ ma}^ be moderate and lasting onl}^ a few 
hours at a time, or they may be so protracted, intense, and 



Derangements of the Menstrual Ficnction. 127 

agonizing as to cause fainting, spasms, or convulsions, and 
even cataleps3^ They are occasionally so violent as to re- 
semble the pains of labor. The stomach and bowels become 
UTitable, producing vomiting or diarrhoea, with scalding of 
urine, and, in the severer forms, utter prostration of the 
nervous S3'stem supervenes. This disorder, therefore, may 
be divided into two varieties, according to the constitutional 
peculiarities of the patients : — 

1st. The inflammatory^ when it occurs in women of full 
habit and sanguine temperament, and, 

2d. The neuralgic^ when it is contined to those of a ner- 
t vous temperament and of a thin, delicate habit of body. 

A third kind might be added, viz., where there is a me- 
chanical difficulty arising from some impediment existing in 
the passage leading to the uterus ; but these distinctions are 
onh^ important as regards the treatment, the causes are 
generally the same. 

CAUSES. 

The causes of this complaint are very numerous, many of 
which we have enumerated under the preceding forms of 
menstrual irregularity^ There is, beyond all doubt, such an 
affection as rheumatism or neuralgia of the womb, though 
this is much more rare than usually supposed. Pains at 
the monthly period are frequently caused by displacements 
of the uterus, occasioning an unnatural pressure upon the 
nerves, which, when so.gTeatl}' distended with blood as they 
QQUst be at those periods, cause exceedingl}^ ]3ainful sensa- 
tions during the passage of the menstrual flood. In these ■ 
cases the neck of the uterus is bent at right angles, and the 
canal which passes through it is of course strictured, so that 
the evacuation Is made with great difficulty and pain, the 
neck being, from inflammation and other causes, almost 
closed. An increased flow of blood to an inflamed part 
always causes pain, from the fact that the inflammation ren- 



128 Wommi's Medical Companio7i. 

ders it so much more sensitive by the undue compression 
of the sensor}' nerves. Congestion of the lining membrane 
of the womb itself is a frequent cause of painful menstrua- 
tion. The condition of the membrane of the womb is 
similar to that of the larj^nx in membranous croup. There 
is the same pom-ing forth of what we call coagidable lymph ^ 
which forms itself into a membrane. This membrane the 
womb strives, b}' strenuous contractions, to throw off, and 
finally succeeds in expelUng it, not whole and enthe, but 
in shreds and particles. These shreds, which women some- 
times call skinny substances, are characteristic of the dis- 
ease, and the efforts to expel them cause -psiins very much 
like those of natural labor, and sometimes almost as severe. 

SYMPTOMS. 

This disease may attack women at any age, more espe- 
cially unmarried women, and women who have never borne 
children. For a few days previous to the monthly" parox^^sm 
there is a general sense of uneasiness, feelings of cold and 
headache, alternating with pains in the lower part of the 
back, often of a severe and bearing-down character. In 
plethoric constitutions, there is frequentl}' a flushed face, 
hot skin, and full pulse. "When menstruation is estabhshed, 
the eruption is slow and scanty, or in shght, intermittent 
gushes. The discharge is frequently paler than usual, or 
mixed with small clots of blood. In man}'' cases there is 
the peculiar membranous matter discharged of which we 
have spoken, and which has frequently given rise to unjust 
suspicions of conception when occurring in the unmarried. 
Dr. Denman regarded the existence of this membrane as a 
sign of sterihty, asserting that he never knew a female in 
whom this secretion existed, to be the subject of concep- 
tion. Our experience and observation has taught us, how- 
ever, that though conception seldom takes place under such 



Derangements of the Menstrual Function, 129 

circumstances, it is not by any means impossible. Dysmen- 
orrhoea does not appear to us as necessarily connected with 
any derangement of uterine structure. The most common 
cause is, undoubted!}^, cold taken during menstruation, mis- 
carriage, or dehver}', which, giving rise to sudden contrac- 
tions, in some cases, especially when unrelieved, produce 
hardening and alterations in the neck and mouth of the 
uterus, thus giving rise to barrenness and a disposition to 
cancer. The majority of cases are curable, although a few 
resist all the known means of alleviating the malady, and 
are only cm-ed when the function of menstruation ceases. 



TREATMENT. 

If the dysmenorrhcea be caused by displacement of the 
uterus, the trouble will, of com^se, be entirely overcome 
when the organ is restored to its proper position ; if by 
stricture of the canal through the uterine neck, it can only 
be rectified by artificial enlargement of the jpassage, an 
operation which requires the manipulation of a careful and 
skilful phj'sician. As in the other forms of menstrual irreg- 
ularity, the first eff'ort must be to assuage the pain and 
lessen the annoyance to the patient, the chief reliance being 
placed on sedatives. Afterward, the entire energies of the 
phj'sician must be directed to the prevention of its return 
by the administration of appropriate remedies during the 
interval. The same remedies as previously directed, with 
the addition of electro-magnetism to the inert organs ; 
belladonna ointment to the neck of the womb, and 
belladonna plaster to the sacral region (or base of 
the spinal column) will prove eminently beneficial. 
{See No. 271.) During the interval, the means we have 
previously recommended to strengthen the patient and 
lessen the local and general irritabilit}^, should be adopted. 



130 Woman's Medical Compaction. 

The diet should be generous, accompanied by dail}^ exercise 
in the open air. 

The treatment of painful menstruation of the meclianical 
species, as we have previously remarked, is necessarily con- 
fined to mechanical remedies, — the use of the catheter. 
The instrument should be allowed to remain only a few 
minutes at a time, the frequency of application (not more 
than twice or thrice a week) depending entirely upon 
the nervous irritability" of the jDatient. It will be advisable 
in such cases to use daily vaginal injections of warm water, 
the patient being kept under the influence of sedative medi- 
cines, with an occasional mild aperient. 



Women as Wives and Mothers. 131 

CHAPTEE YIL 

WOMEN AS' WIVES AND MOTHERS. 

Having considered the ordinary diseases to wMcli the 
3'oung women of our large cities are especially liable prior 
to marriage, we will leave the consideration of hereditary, 
congenital, and general diseases for a time, and proceed to 
the contemplation of woman in her relations to the commu- 
nit}' as a wife and mother, and the duties, responsibihties, 
and continojencies attaching to that condition. 

We will assume, for argument's sake, that her choice has 
not been trammelled b}^ the dictation of parents or guar- 
dians ; that she has not been influenced in that choice by 
mere outward appearance, or the glare and sheen of the 
ball-room, 'bvA pure affection^ based on a practical and per- 
sonal knowledge of the husband's habits and tendencies, his 
capacity- and willingness to contribute to and secure her 
permanent happiness and comfort, and his absolute free- 
dom from au}^ malady, hereditary or acquired", which might 
inflict sufi'ering or injury on herself or her off'spring. She 
has now assumed new honors and new responsibilities. She 
is now a monarch in her own right, — the queen of a house- 
hold which shall prove to her an earthly paradise or a life- 
long dungeon, the gi'ave of all her hopes and aspirations, 
the scene of untold woes and miseries, to the description of 
which language is utterly inadequate. 

PROSPECTIVE MOTHERHOOD. 

Every j^oung married woman in the prospect of becoming 
a mother is, naturally, deepl}^ interested in her novel and 



132 Woman' s Medical Companio7i. 

beTvildering position. It is new to her, and she feels 
its importance in her inmost soul. She is all anxiety to 
know whether it will affect her own health, if there is any 
plan she ought to pm^sue to preserv^e it, and whether a strict 
adherence to such a x:)lan will tend to secure a vigorous con- 
stitution to her expected offspring. Unfortunately, how- 
ever, in too many instances, these reflections lead to no 
useful result ; sometimes from ignorance of the importance 
of the subject, but with the majority of newly-mamed 
women, from an unwillingness to a.sT: for the necessary infor- 
mation. From whatever cause it may proceed, there can be 
no doubt of the fact that, hitherto, there has been a lament-, 
able want of self-management dm-ing the period of preg- 
nancy. I say lamentable, because of the importance of 
the interests involved, and the melancholy consequences 
often resulting from such neglect. 

It is undoubtedly true that when pregnancy occm's in a 
woman of sound constitution, who habitually observes the 
ordinary laws of health, and regards also those which are 
demanded by the new condition in which she is placed, in 
general her health will not be much affected by it. But then 
this presiunes a previous careful and constant obseiwance 
of those hygienic and sanitary- regulations by which alone 
the health is maintained ; for no woman can be indifferent 
to those laws, or violate them dming this period, without 
pa}ing the cost in suffering, and occasionalh' in positive 
danger, and inevitahly in endowing her innocent unborn 
offspring with the same maladies and agonies she herself 
endures. And here we feel it to be our painful but inexor- 
able duty to specially call the attention of our fair readers 
to the vital importance and Hfe-long results, for good or for 
evil, of 

PRE-AATAIL i:VFIiT:E3fCES 

on the immortal being she is so soon to introduce into this 



Women as Wives a^id Mothers. 133 

nether world. It must be remembered that the individual 
characteristics of each parent (mental and ph3^sical) are 
strikingly reproduced in the children, and are necessarilj' 
transmitted by the same law from generation to genera- 
tion, in proportion to the intensity of the peculiarity in the 
original stock. The structm'al formation, the mental and 
moral prochvities, and even the psychological features, are 
reproduced and perpetuated from one generation to another, 
until the tastes, the pursuits, and the features of a particu- 
lar line or family become as famihar as a household word. 
In America, as well as in England, the social records show 
*that the members of certain families have been noted for 
many generations as athletes, g}Tnnasts, dancers, scientists, 
mechanicians, inventors, financiers, statesmen, etc. ; for 
we are daily met with the remark, in our social intercourse, 
when the conversation turns upon the excellencies or pecu- 
liarities of certain individuals, that such a thing "runs 
in the famil}'." This observation refers with equal truth to 
disease, anatomical and mental pecuharities, and habits of 
thought and conduct. These family features may be trans- 
mitted by either or both parents, and they may be shared 
equally b}^ the children of both sexes. Instances of the 
absolute truth of this dogma multiply so thickly, da}'- after 
da}^, that we need only call attention to a few illustrations, 
to enforce the fact upon our readers' minds. 



HEREDITARY PECUIilARITIES. 

Any one who has read the histor}' of Frederick the Great 
and his gigantic body-guard, so famous for theu' immense 
physique, will recollect that, in order that this commanding 
statm-e should be perpetuated through succeeding genera- 
tions, he decreed that they should not be allowed to marr}^ 
any women but those of corresponding size. While this 



134 Woman^s Medical Companion. 



law was rigidl}' adhered to, the ph^'sical status of this body- 
guard remained unaltered : it was only when obedience to 
it ceased to be enforced, that the stature of this famous 
regiment became reduced. The practice of the ancient 
Greeks of putting away their dwarfed, diseased, or maimed 
children, that theh' phj^sical defects might not be perpetu- 
ated, shows how early this law of inheritance was recognized 
and acted upon. The natural consequence was that for 
manj'- ages the Greek nation was universally known and 
acknowledged as the t^-pe of physical perfection and s^^m- 
metry ; and it was only when, enervated by luxury and 
indolence, they- abandoned the simplicity, frugalit}', and 
temperance of their Spartan forefathers, that they declined 
in phj^sical and intellectual development, until they became 
the miserable and degraded beings of the present centmy. 
In our own quarter of the globe, we have only to visit the 
Mexican territor}^ and to compare the native inhabitants of 
that region with the men and women of Vermont and New 
Hampshire (the beau-ideals of the t}T^)ical ' ' image of the 
Creator") to form an idea of the universal operation of 
hereditary characteristics. 



trajvsmissioiv of deformities. 

The law of heredity receives still more forcible illustra- 
tion in the transmission of malformations and deformities 
(or arrest of development). For instance, harelip, horn}^ 
excrescences, and other peculiarities of formation in toes, 
fingers, etc., have been reproduced for four or five succes- 
sive generations. Nor has this transmission been confined 
to the anatomical structure, for even the color of the hair 
has been faithfully transferred from father to son and gi'and- 
son, thus proving that, though the coloring pigment is 
specially influenced b}^ the nervous organism, every depart- 



Women as Wives and Mothers, 135 

ment of nature is equall}^ susceptible to and dependent 
upon the law of heredit3^ As with the bod}', so with the 
mind. The mind has a constant and abiding influence on 
the body, and vice versa. Kow, from the veiy moment of 
conception until the Instant that the child opens its eyes 
on the scenes and surroundings in which it is to perform 
its part, it is yirtuall}- part and parcel of the maternal sj'S- 
tem, — it participates in ever}' ph^'sical and mental change 
experienced by the woman ; every indiscretion of diet, of 
undue exposure to the inclemency of the weather, every 
error in dress, everj- ph^'sical ailment, ever}" fit of despon- 
» denc}', ill-temper, or excess of jo}^, grief, or hilarity, has a 
corresponding influence on the living occupant of the womb, 
and leaves its lasting impress on the httle being whose life 
commences with the period of impregnation. The eminent 
authoress George Eliot remarks, in reference to mental 
hereditary influence : — 

TVhat! shall the trick of nostrils and of lips 
Descend through generations, and the soul 
That moves within our frame like God in worlds, 
Imprint no record, leave no documents 
Of her great history? 

To this interrogatory let answer be in the lives of Yernet, 

j Bonhem-, Teniers, Caracci, Titian, Beethoven, Bach, Goethe, 

j Schiller, the Herschels, father and son. Thousands of bright 

j and shining lights in the constellation of science and art, 

I in all ages and countries, owe their eminence and intel- 

I lectual superiorit}' to the beautiful, elevated, and heaven- 

', inspired nature of their mothers. It was their maternal 

; inheritance, the development of the germ implanted b}^ 

I their maternal progenitor. In our own beloved countr}^, 

I where woman has enjo3'ed an intellectual equality with man, 

i these exquisite mental endowments have been transmitted 



136 Woman's Medical Companion. 

with marvellous impartiality to the female branches of our 
leading famiUes, as witness the Brownings, Beechers, 
Caret's, Sigournej's, and others, whose works will live in the 
hearts of posterity till tune shall be no more. Had women 
in past ages been permitted the same opportunities for 
mental development as their more favored colleagues of 
the sterner sex, their roll of honor and fame would have 
been as great and glorious as that of thek mascuhne co- 
workers. The very destines and j^earnings women of earlier 
ages have had for increased knowledge, and for the privi- 
lege of imparting and bringing into practical use that 
knowledge, have miiTored themselves upon the minds of 
their offspring, and created^ by reflex action, the heroes 
and patriots of the present and past centmy. 

EEREDITT OF HABIT, DISEASE, A]Vr> CRIME. 

But there is a sad, a heart-rending reverse to this picture. 
The principle of heredity of taste, of habit, and of intellect, 
necessarily involves an heredity' of vice, of disease, of crime, 
of sensuality, of dissipation, — of all those abnormahties of 
moral and mental force which have, in the present as well as 
the past, transformed this world from a Paradise to a Pande- 
monium. The 'passions^ in all the fearful intensit}' of then* 
original parox3'sm, are permanently and indelibl}^ photo- 
graphed on the foetus. The poor mother, whose period of 
pregnancy has been marked by a succession of domestic 
vicissitudes and griefs, cannot wonder that her dear new- 
born infant is ushered into existence with a prostrated 
nervous organism, and bears the impress of premature old 
age on its infantile countenance. What wonder that the 
offspring of a mother who, during the nine months she has 
borne her child, has indulged pcrsistcnll}' in the use of the 
clram-bottle, should, before it is able to wallt, exhibit an 
unnatural cra^dng for intoxicating beverages, and positively 



Woinc?i as Wives and Mothers. 137 

refuse to take its natural nutriment ! Two-thirds of the 
drunkards of this present generation have been m(.(de so, 
and horn with that hereditar}' tendenc}^ to dissipation ; the}' 
are onh' following out the behests of their nature^ by the 
development of the germ implanted in them b}' their pro- 
genitors. In their case, it is a disease, and not a crime. 
Their parents are the only criminals, — and the parents' 
crime has culminated in an hereditarj^ curse on the children 
and children's children. If we desire a proof of the law 
of heredity in reference to vice., a visit to our State prisons 
will show that fully 75 per cent, of our 3'outhful criminals 
owe their iiTcsistible passion for the commission of crime to 
the moral depravity and physical and mental degradation 
of their parents. In fact, so firmly established is this truth, 
that most of our juvenile offenders feel a sort of family 2')ride 
in tracing their pedigree to the most notorious law-breakers 
om* criminal records can furnish. Suicidal tendencies are 
frequently inherited, and sudden deaths at a certain age 
have been known to run thi'ough successive generations of 
families. 

Education may do and doubtless does much to transform 
and modify, but it never creates. It may make a good 
musician, but it cannot make a musical genius. It ma}' and 
does modify hereditary mental and physical defects, but it 
cannot eradicate them. 

TRANSMISSI03r OF TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 

When considered in all then- varied relations, the scales 
of influence are evenly balanced between the parents and 
their children ; neither can evade their responsibilities and 
be found guiltless. A large share of the influence coming 
from the father is communicated through the mother to the 
child b}' the impressions she receives from him during the 
period of gestation. If there is unison of spirit, a harmo- 



138 Woman's Medical Companion. 

nioiis blending of their natiu-es, there is more likely to be 
an equal mingling of the traits of both parents ; while, on' 
the other hand, if the husband is brutal, if she loathes his 
presence, then will the child, in all probabilitj^, be stamped 
for life with his most undesirable characteristics. Likes 
and dislikes, of persons, places, and even articles of diet 
(frequenth^of the most erratic nature), possess the mother's 
mind dm^ing this period ; she tries to overcome the feeling, 
but in Tain, and the consequence is that these nnpleasant 
pecuharities are reproduced in the child. These indisputable 
facts show us the imperative necessit}^ of making the sur- 
roundings of the mother as genial and pleasant as j)ossible, 
if we would have the child all it might be, — -bright, happ}-, 
and beautiful. 

HOW PABEIVTS SHOUI.I> I^IVE AFTER COIVCEPTIOIV. 

The life and surroundings of both parents, before, at the 
time of, and after, conception, are conditions that du'ectly 
affect the child. The importance of physical perfection, 
both in the individual and in the race, cannot be overstated, 
for upon a sound ph^'sical basis rests strength of mind and 
soul, and all its multiple mental and moral outgrowths. 
The sickly in bod}', the depressed in mind, by becoming 
fathers and mothers, run the fearful risk of multiplying and 
intensifying the maladies and defects from which the}' suf- 
fer, and which they have, most probably, received from 
the neglect or ignorance of their parents. It is incumbent 
upon the x^arents, therefore, to make constant effort after 
purity of bodj' and culture and strength of mind, that 
these desirable qualities ma}' become the birthright of their 
oflfspring. This can only be attained by a simple but 
nutritious dietar}-, partaken at regular hoiu's, and selected 
with due regard to its digestibility and suitability to 
constitutional peculiarities ; healthful and congenial em- 



Women as Wives and Mothers, 139 

plojTnent, both mental and phj^sical ; judicious and frequent 
exercise in the open air ; the cultivation of music as a 
recreation ; and, above and before all, the inculcation and 
development of a spirit of purity and cleanliness in thought, 
act, and deed. Human beings must learn, and adopt as an 
inviolable principle, the fact that sexual appetite was only 
given as a means of perpetuation of the race, not as a 
vehicle for lust, reckless passion, and indiscriminate indul- 
gence in the lowest and most degrading species of sensual 
gratification. Until both man and woman have been enabled 
to bring their passions thoroughly under the control of the 
moral and intellectual faculties, they will never secure a 
progen}" worthy of their high and holy mission, as the pro- 
pagators of the highest race of beings known in God's 
creation. 

DUTIES OF THE HUSBANI> DURING THE PERIOD OF 
GESTATIOar. 

During the last twenty-five years the attention and in- 
terest of the public has been constantly drawn to the 
important subject of improvement in stock ; and farmers, 
stock-breeders, and those who devote their time and atten- 
tion to the raising of cattle, take especial care in the 
selection of the finest and most healthy animals, and those 
possessing the highest qualifications for the purposes re- 
quired. This having been done, the efi'orts of the owners 
are concentrated on the preservation of the health of the 
animals so selected ; their food, their general surroundings, 
their exercise, and their periods of rest, so that their 
constitutions shall not be deteriorated or undermined b}^ 
overwork, neglect, irregularit}^, etc. ; for the experienced 
stock-breeder is fully cognizant of the fact that, just in 
proportion as the animal is cared for, and its welfare 
vigilantly watched, so will he be rewarded by the superior 



140 Woinan^s Medical Companion, 

pli3'sical properties, health, and consequent market-value of 
the stock so raised. Now, if this be true in regard to the 
lower order of animals, how much more emphatically so in 
relation to the human race, in which the maintenance and 
improvement of the intellectual as well as the ph^^sical 
faculties are of the most vital importance in the exercise of 
the reproductive function ! The instances we have cited in 
the first part of this chapter demonstrate the fact most in- 
disputably, that these physical and mental qualifications or 
peculiarities which distinguish either or both of the parents 
are reproduced and often intensified in the children. 

It must be presumed, as a matter of com'se, that the 
husband and wife have been attracted to each other \)j an 
affinity of taste, intellect, and mental and ph^^sical cultm-e, 
far above the mere ph^'sical j^erfection sought for by the 
cattle-breeder or stock-raiser ; but j^et, the same principles 
must be acted upon, and the same care observed in the one 
case as in the other. Some of our first physiologists have 
remarked, and ever3^-day experience has tested its truth, 
that if 3'ou want to make 3^om' child great and gifted in an 
intellectual point of A'iew, 3'ou must first make it a " power- 
ful animal ; " that is, it must be amply endowed with 
ph^^sical Aigor and health. This deskable object can only 
be efi'ected by the adoption of a strict and inflexible course 
of conduct. 

YOUIt CHII.I> BEGIIVS ITS r.IFE AT THE MOMENT OF 

co3rcEPTio3ir. 

The instant that 3'ou have reason to suspect that a new 
organism has been brought into existence, the united efibrts 
of yourself and 3'our husband should be du'ected to the 
maintenance of 3'our health, comfort, and happiness. Your 
husband should bear in mind that tlie future of your imhorn 
infant^ morally, intellectually, and physically, entirely de- 



Women as Wives and Mothers. 141 

pcnds upon the course of life pursued b}^ himself and j^ou 
during the nine months of gestation. You are to live a 
natural, healthful life ; not one of seclusion, melancholy, 
or abstemiousness, or, on the other hand, of wild excite- 
ment, indulgence, and neglect of those wholesome, health- 
producing home-duties which ordinarity devolve upon the 
wife in the daily routine of the homestead. But, as the 
condition of gestation, though perfectly natural, renders the 
woman susceptible of a constant succession of influences, 
alike unknown and incomprehensible to her or those with 
whom she is surrounded, it is the husband's paramount 
duty to evince towards his wife that self-denial, affectionate 
solicitude, and vigilant watchfulness and anxiety to an- 
ticipate her ever}" wish, which an earnest, ardent love would 
prompt. He must treat her as an intelligent, reasoning 
being, not as a mere vehicle for the gratification of his 
passions. He must keep her mind free from all trouble, 
anxiety, or disturbing influences. Her diet and exercise 
must be regulated with the utmost care and discretion ; all 
indigestible or highl3^-seasoned dishes, stimulating bever- 
ages, late hours, exciting amusements, or arduous labors 
being especially avoided ; in a word, he must, as a rule, 
allow her to have her oivn ivay in these matters ; for her own 
common-sense and inclination will usually prompt her in 
the right direction. And, lastly, though b}^ no means least, 
he should seize every opportunity of evincing his affection- 
ate sohcitude for her welfare, b}^ those little unobtrusive 
kindnesses and attentions which are so grateful to, and 
heartily appreciated b}^, ever}' true woman. A strict ob- 
servance of this course of conduct cannot fail to produce the 
result so ardently' desired by both parents, — an offspring in 
the full possession of all the mental and pli3'sical faculties 
which go to make up the perfect man or woman. 



142 Woman^s Medical Companion. 



SIGXS OF PR.EGXAXCY. 

The diagnosis of early pregnancy is no easy task : it fre 
quently baffles the most experienced i^h^^sicians ; therefore i 
great care and discrimination should be exercised before 
yenturing upon a i^ositiye assertion. The general condition , 
of a pregnant woman is a plethoric habit of the bod}^, a | 
quick, full pulse, and an apparent increase in the circula- \ 
tion of the blood. The sympathetic action of the seyeral 
organisms (the brain, stomach, etc.) with the uterus is ! 
markedly evinced ; yariations in temper and disposition are ■ 
of frequent occurrence ; the aj^petite is curiously capricious ; \ 
and the skin occasionall}' becomes sallow, or shows dis- i 
colored patches in yarious parts of the body. The special i 
de\dations from the normal ph3'sical condition, or unyar}'- , 
ing signs by which pregnane}- maj- be determined, are : — . ' 

1. Cessation of Menstruation. — The non- 
appearance of the catamenia at the proper time is one of the 
first circumstances which leads a woman to suspect her 
pregnane}' ; and if a second term passes by without their 
appearance, it is usually looked upon as conclusive. But, 
strictty speaking, it is not so, for menstruation may be ar- 
rested by yarious diseases which we haye already described ; 
or, on the contrar}', it is by no means infrequent that men- 
struation will continue its course uninterruptedly for seyeral 
months after conception or during the whole period of ges- 
tation. Neyertheless, although exceptions of this kind do 
occur, when menstruation ceases without au}- perceptible 
cause, the woman otherwise remaining perfect!}- healthy, 
we take it as pretty good e\'idence that conception has taken 
'place. 

2. Morning-Sickness, combined with other symp- 
toms, is of considerable yalue, though, of itself, it is 
extremely unreliable, because pregnancy frequently occm's 



Women as Wives and MotJiers. 143 

without the shghtest indication of sickness in the morning ; 
while, in other cases, morning-sickness may present itself, 
from various causes, and yet the patient not be pregnant. 
This iiTitability of the stomach, arising from s^mipathy with- 
the uterus, commences soon after conception, and ceases 
shortly after the third month. 

3. Salivation. — This is sometimes, though far from 
invariably, present. T^^hen it exists, however, it differs 
materiall}' from mercurial salivation, inasmuch as there is a 
total absence of the peculiar odor of mercmialization, and 
the sponginess and soreness of the gums produced b}' that 
metal. 

4. Enlargeinent of the Breasts. — About two 
mouths after conception, the woman's attention is called to 
the state of the breasts. She feels an uneasy sensation of 
fulness, with a ^thi'obbing and tingling pain in then- sub-, 
stance, and at the nipples. They increase in size and 
fii'mness, and have a pecuhar, knottj^, glandular feel ; the 
areola (the colored ckcle about the nipple) darkens, and 
after some time milk is secreted. But it must be recollected 
that the breasts may enlarge from other causes ; this happens 
with some women at each menstrual period when the cata- 
menia are suspended, or after the}' cease ; and at such times 
a milky fluid may be secreted. 

5. Enlargement of the Abdomen. — The 
gradual enlargement of the abdomen, taken in connection 
with the sjTinptoms already mentioned, enables us to esti- 
mate with considerable certainty the period of pregnancy at 
the time the examination is made. Distention of the ab- 
domen, however, sometimes takes place from other causes 
than pregnane}' ; therefore, this sign alone is not sufficient 
to warrant us in pronouncing upon a case. 

6. Qnickening. — This term is applied to the first 
movement of the child within the womb, or rather to the 



144 Woman's Medical Companion. 

first perception of such movement on the part of the mother. 
Some women labor under the erroneous idea that the child 
does not commence its life until the fourth month, — the 
time about which the quickening is usually felt. The fact 
is, however, we have just as much reason to believe that the 
child is quite as much alive at \hQ fourth loeek^ and, indeed, 
from the very moment of concejytion. Quickening sometimes 
takes place at an earher period than the fourth month, while 
occasionally it is delayed until the sixth or seventh month. 
The sensation is, at first, like a feeble pulsation, and, \ 
though so slight, is often accompanied by sickness at the , 
stomach, a feeling of faintiiess, and, sometimes, complete H 
syncope or swooning. By degrees it becomes stronger and | 
more frequent, until the movements of the extremities are j 
plainly distinguishable. i 



PRESERVATION OF HEALTH 1>URIjVG PREGNANCT. 1 

I 

To the vitall}' important question, " How shall perfect i 
health be secured?" we reply, "By vigilant attention to j 
dress, diet, and exejxise." These items are of the highest I 
importance under ordinary circumstances, but in pregnancy j 
this importance is increased a hundred-fold. 

1. Dress. — Lycurgus, the great Spartan lawgiver,, 
decreed that all pregnant women should wear wide, loose 
clothing. A similar law also prevailed among the Romans. , 
The dress should be warm, loose, and light during the | 
whole period ; and, at this da}^, were there such a law, i 
and the proper power to enforce it, 3'ou would hear ; 
fewer complaints of "bad gettings up," " faUings," "pro- j 
lapsuses," "broken breasts," "weaknesses," and other} 
complaints which do so much to undermine the constitutions j 
of married women. Let out 3'our dresses early ; no part of | 
the dress should be tight ; even garters should be aban- ,' 
doned ; everything should be loose, so as to allow a free 1 



Women as Wives and Mothers. 145 

circulation of the blood. Tight lacing is highly injurious : 
how can it be otherwise ? While nature is gradually in- 
creasing the capacity of the abdomen to accommodate the 
steady development of the child, the absurdity of compress- 
ing the chest with staj's, or girding the abdomen with skirts, 
would seem patent to an}^ one possessed of common intelli- 
gence, for they must know that it cannot fail to have an 
extremely injurious effect on both mother and child. 

CARE OF THE BREASTS. 

Special care must be taken that the dress is loose 
about the breasts. This is highly important, for not un- 
frequently the breasts and nipples are so flattened out by 
direct pressure that after confinement there is nothing 
that can be properly called a nipple left. Sometimes they 
are almost entkely obhterated, from compression during 
girlhood, and a continuance of that pressure during married 
life. But this pressure does not affect the nipple only : the 
secretor}^ structure of the breast itself is permanently in- 
jured, and the important function of lactation never attains 
that state of perfection which it otherwise would. The suf- 
fering resulting from this state of things to both mother and 
child is b}^ no means trifling. The breasts should be effect- 
uall}^ protected from compression of any kind, and should 
be subjected to careful but gradual development, especially 
the nipple, their most sensitive part, by the medium of which 
alone the infant can obtain its natural nourishment. Dr. 
Trac}', one of the most eminent obstetricians in the United 
States, suggests the following method for keeping the 
nipples permanently prominent after they have been once 
drawn out : " Wind a bit of woollen thread or yarn two 
or three times around the base of the nipple, t^dng it mod- 
eratel}^ tight, but not so tight as to interfere with the free 
cu'culation of the blood." 



146 Woman's Medical Companion. 

Retraction., or deficient development., is not the only difficulty 
to which the nipples are subject. The most common affections 
to which they are liable are excoriations, cracks, inflamma- 
tion, scaly eruptions, and small abscesses. These usually 
arise from the extreme sensitiveness of the skin, occasioned 
b}^ the nipple being kept folded down upon the breast by 
the clothing ; in this waj^, the skin around the base of the , 
nipple, being folded upon itself, becomes very delicate and 
thin, and unfitted for the purpose for which it was designed. 
The natural result is, as soon as the child begins to nurse, 
the skin becomes irritated and inflamed ; cracks, fissures, 
or abscesses form, and the mother is subjected to untold 
misery ever}'' time the child is put to the breast. 

Now, the main object to be attained in preparing the 
"breasts during early pregnancy for their future important 
function, is to thicken and toughen the skin upon and at the 
base of the nipple. For several weeks prior to delivery, the 
entire breast and chest should be bathed in cold water daily, 
and afterwards well dried and rubbed with coarse towels. 
Some recommend bathing the breast and nipple with brand}'', 
or various decoctions of herbs ; but I should infinitel}^ pre- 
fer the cold-water treatment, or simply rubbing the parts 
upon all sides, and in every direction, wdth the palm of the 
dry hand. This rubbing should be commenced soon after 
the establishment of pregnancy, and continued until con- 
finement. Should there be tenderness, excoriation, or sore- 
ness, the parts may be bathed in a weak solution of arnica. 

DEBAIVGEMENTS BURIKG PREGIVAXCT. 

The undermentioned derangements during the period of 
pregnancy^ are not considered in detail, for the reason that 
they cannot fairly be classed under the head of diseases; 
but remedies for each of these ailments will be found at the 
following numbers in the Appendix : — 



• Women as Wives and Mothers, ' 147 

Continued menstruation, 8, 272. 

Headache and vertigo, etc., 9, 216, 217, 218. 

Morning-sickness, 10, 214, 331, 332. 

Constipation, 11, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183. 

Diarrhoea, 12, 190, 191, 192. 

Hysteria, or fainting-fits, 13, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235. 

Palpitation of the heart, 14, 275,. 276. 

Toothache, 15, 321, 322, 323, 324. 

Neuralgia, 16, 281, 282, 283. 

Pains in back and side, 17. 

Cramps in limbs, back, or abdomen, 18. 

Varicose or swollen veins, 19. 

Hemorrhoids, or piles, 20, 225, 226, 227, 228. 

Jaundice, or icterus, 21, 236, 237, 238, 253, 254. 

Incontinence of urine, 22, 280. 

Difficult or scanty urination, 23, 280. 

Flooding, 24, 219, 220, 221, 

Miscarriage, or abortion, 25, 259. 

False pains, 26. 

FAIiSE PAUVS. 

Some time previous to delivery (varj'ing from two weeks 
to a few days) women are frequently much annoyed with 
what are termed spurious or false 2)ciins. These pains some- 
times so closely resemble true labor-pains, that it is exceed- 
ingly difficult to discriminate the one from the other. From 
this close resemblance arise what are called " false alarms." 

Now, in view of all this, it becomes quite essential that 
both patient and nm'se should fully understand the differ- 
ence between true and false pains. False pains usually 
differ from labor-pains in the irregularity of their occurrence ; 
in being entirely unconnected with uterine contraction, and 
being chiefly confined to the abdomen, which is peculiarly 
sensitive to touch and movement ; and in their not increasing 



148 Woman's Medical Companion. 

in intensity as they return. True labor-pains commence 
low down, and are first felt in the hack^ extending gradually 
to the front, recui'ring with regularity and increasing in in- 
tensity with each retui'n. 

Spurious pains arise from Tarious causes, such as over- 
fatigue, indigestion, cold, mental emotions, constipation, 
en'ors in diet, and frequently by the active motions of the 
cMld. 

TREATMESTT. 

As these spurious pains, when they come on early in 
pregnancy, are liable to bring on premature labor, or, when 
at full term, occasion great distress and loss of rest, it is 
always desirable to relieve them as speedily as possible. 
This may generally be effected by one of the following rem- 
edies, each of which is appropriate to the before-mentioned 
causes, in the order named : Br3^onia, Pulsatilla, nux 
vomica, dulcamara, and aconitum. Twelve globules of 
either of these remedies, dissolved in twelve teaspoonfuls 
of water, taking one teaspoonful of the solution every half- 
hour until the symptoms are reheved, will be found effectual. 
{See Xo. 26.) 

METHOD OF CAI^CUIiATEVG THE TIME OF CO]VFr3fEME]VT. 

The time when confinement may be expected, particularly 
if it be a.Jirst pregnancy, is natm-alty a matter of consider- 
able importance and interest to the J^oung married woman ; 
and it is certainlj^ verj^ desu'able on all accounts that it should 
be as accurately determined as possible. It is impossible, 
however, b}^ what is called reckoning, or by any other means, 
to ascertain the exact day upon which labor will take place. 
There are many circumstances which prevent this ; among 
others, the uncertainty connected with the duration of 
pregnancy itself. The nearest approach to the actual time. 



Women as Wives and Mothers. 149 

and the most effective way of meeting the difficulty is to 
allow 280 da3^s as the full period of gestation — a fact which 
is proved b}^ the gi'eat weight of experience all the world 
over. 

For the purpose of facihtating reckoning, the following 
tables have been prepared. The mode of using them needs 
but little explanation : Suppose the lady to be taken unwell 
on the 28th of December, and continue so until the 31st, 
the reckoning must then commence on the da}^ following, — 
the 1st of January. Look for this date on the first column 
of the January table, and the corresponding dates of quick- 
ening and labor will be found in the same line ; that is to 
say, she will quicken about the 20tli of May, and be con- 
fined about the 8th of October. 



150 



Woman's Medical Companion, 



JANUARY. 



Date of becoming D? 


iteof 


Date of expected 


Pregnant. Quic 


liening. 


Confinement. 


Januakt 1 Ma^ 


r 20 


October 8 


2 


21 


9 






3 


22 


10 






4 


23 


11 






6 


24 


12 






6 


25 


13 






7 


2^ 


14 






8 


27 


15 






9 


28 


16 






10 


29 


17 






11 


30 


18 






12 


31 


19 






13 JuN] 


z 1 


.... 20 






14 


2 


.... 21 






15 


3 


22 






16 


4 


23 






17 


5 


24 






18 


6 


25 






19 


7 


26 






20 


8 


.... 27 






21 


9 


28 






22 


10 


29 






23 


11 


30 






2^ 


12 


31 






25 


13 


November 1 






26 


14 


2 






27 


15 


3 






28 


16 


4 






29 


17 


5 






30 


18 


6 






31 


19 


7 



Women as Wives and Mothers. 



151 



FEBRUARY. 



Date ofbecoming 
Pregnant. 


Date of 
Quickening. 


Date of expected 
Confinement, 


Eebruart 1 


June 20 


November 8 


2 


21 


9 






3 


.... 22 


.... 10 






4 


.... 23 


.... 11 






5 


24 


.... 12 






6 


25 


.... 13 






7 


.... 26 


.... 14 






8 


.... 27 


.... 15 






9 


.... 28 


.... 16 






10 


.... 29 


.... 17 






11 


.... 30 


.... 18 






12 


July 1 


.... 19 






13 


2 


.... 20 






U 


3 


.... 21 






15 


4 


.... 22 






16 


5 


.... 23 






17 


6 


.... 24 






18 


7 


.... 25 






19 


8 


.... 26 






20 


9 


.... 27 






21 


.... 10 


.... 28 






22 


11 


.... 29 






23 


.... 12 


.... 30 






. 2-t 


.... 13 


December 1 






. 25 


.... 14 


2 






. 26 


.... 15 


3 






27 


.... 16 


4 






. 28 


.... 17 


5 



152 



Woman's Medical Companion. 



MARCH. 



Date of Ijecoming 
Pregnant. 


Date of 
Quickening. 


Date of expected 
Confinement. 


March 1 


JULT 18 


December 6 


... 


2 


.... 19 


7 


... 


3 


20 


8 


... 


4 


.... 21 


9 


... 


5 


22 


.... 10 


... 


6 


.... 23 


.... 11 


... 


7 


.... 24 


.... 12 


... 


8 


25 


.... 13 


... 


9 


.... 26 


.... 14 


... 


. 10 


.... 27 


15 


... 


. 11 


.... 28 


.... 16 


... 


12 


.... 29 


.... 17 


... 


. 13 


30 


.... 18 


... 


. 14 


.... 31 


.... 19 


... 


. 15 


August 1 


.... 20 


... 


. 16 


2 


.... 21 


... 


17 


3 


.... 22 


... 


. 18 


4 


.... 23 


... 


. 19 


5 


.... 24 


... 


. 20 


6 


.... 25 


... 


21 


7 


2^ 


... 


. 22 


8 


27 


... 


. 23 


9 


.... 28 


... 


. 24 


.... 10 


.... 29 


... 


. 25 


11 


.... 30 


... 


. 26 


12 


.... 31 


... 


. 27 


.... 13 


January 1 


... 


28 


.... 14 


2 


... 


. 29 


15 


3 


... 


. 30 


16 


4 


... 


. 31 


17 


5 



Women as Wives and Mothers, 



153 







APRIL. 






Date of becoming 


Date of 


Date of expected 


Pregnant. 


Quickening. 


Confinement. 


Apkil 


1 


August 


18 


January 


6 


.... 


2 


.... 


19 


.... 


7 


.... 


3 


.... 


20 


.... 


8 


.... 


4 


.... 


21 


.... 


9 


.... 


5 


.... 


22 


.... 


10 


.... 


6 


.... 


23 


.... 


11 


.... 


7 


.... 


24 


.... 


12 


.... 


8 





25 


.... 


13 


.... 


9 


.... 


26 


.... 


14 


.... 


10 





27 


.... 


15 


.... 


11 


.... 


28 


.... 


16 


.... 


12 


.... 


29 


.... 


17 


.... 


13 





30 


.... 


18 


.... 


14 





31 


.... 


19 


.... 


15 


Septembeb 


1 


.... 


20 


.... 


16 


.... 


2 


.... 


21 


.... 


17 


.... 


3 





22 


.... 


18 





4 





23 


.... 


19 


.... 


5 





24 


.... 


20 


.... 


6 


.... 


25 


.... 


21 


.... 


7 





26 


.... 


22 


.... 


8 





27 


.... 


23 


.... 


9 


.... 


28 


.... 


24 


.... 


10 


.... 


29 


.... 


25 


.... 


11 





30 


.... 


1^ 


.... 


12 


.... 


31 


.... 


27 


.... 


13 


February 


1 


.... 


28 


.... 


14 


.... 


2 


.... 


29 


.... 


15 


.... 


3 


.... 


30 


.... 


16 


.... 


4 



154 



Woman's Medical Companiofi. 



MAY. 



Date of becoming 
Pregnant. 


Date of 
Quickening. 


Date of expected 
Confinement. 


Mat 1 


September 17 


February 5 


2 


.... 18 


6 






3 


.... 19 


7 






4 


.... 20 


8 






5 


.... 21 


9 






6 


.... 22 


.... 10 






7 


.... 23 


.... 11 






8 


.... 24 


.... 12 






9 


.... 25 


.... 13 






. 10 


1(^ 


.... 14 






11 


.... 27 


.... 15 






12 


.... 28 


.... 16 






13 


.... 29 


.... 17 






14 


.... 30 


.... 18 






15 


October 1 


19 






16 


2 


.... 20 






17 


3 


.... 21 






18 


4 


.... 22 






19 


5 


.... 23 






20 


6 


.... 24 






21 


7 


.... 25 






22 


8 


.... 26 






23 


9 


.... 27 






24 


.... 10 


.... 28 






25 


11 


March 1 






26 


.... 12 


2 






27 


.... 13 


3 






28 


.... 14 


4 






29 


15 


5 






80 


16 


6 






31 


.... 17 


7 



Women as Wives and Mothers, 



155 



JUNE, 



Date of becoming 


Date of 


Date of expected 


Pregnant. 


Quickening. 


Confinement. 


June 1 


October 18 


March 8 


2 


.... 19 


9 






3 


.... 20 


.... 10 






4 


21 


.... 11 






5 


22 


.... 12 






6 


.... 23 


.... 13 






7 


.... 24 


.... 14 






8 


.... 25 


.... 15 






9 


.... 26 


.... 16 






10 


27 


.... 17 






11 


.... 28 


.... 18 






. 12 


29 


..... 19 






13 


.... 30 


.... 20 






14 


.... 31 


21 






15 


November 1 


.... 22 






16 


2 


.... 23 






. 17 


3 


.... 24 






18 


4 


.... 25 






19 


5 


.... 26 






20 


6 


.... 27 






21 


7 


.... 28 






22 


8 


.... 29 






23 


9 


.... 30 






24 


10 


.... 31 






25 


11 


April 1 






26 


.... 12 


2 






27 


.... 13 


3 






28 


.... 14 


4 






29 


15 


5 






31 


.... 16 


6 



156 



WomatCs Medical Companion. 



JULY. 


Date of becoming 


Date of 


Date of expected 


Pregnant. 


Quickening. 


Confinement. 


July 1 


November 17 


April 7 


2 


18 


8 




3 


.... 19 


9 




4 


20 


.... 10 




5 


21 


.... 11 




6 


.... 22 


.... 12 




7 


23 


.... 13 




8 


24 


.... 14 




9 


.... 25 


.... 15 




. . . . 10 


.... 2^ 


.... 16 




.... 11 


.... 27 


.... 17 




.... 12 


28 


.... 18 




. . . . 13 


.... 29 


.... 19 




.... U 


30 


.... 20 




.... 15 


December 1 


.... 21 




... 16 


2 


.... 22 




... 17 


3 


23 




... 18 


4 


.... 24 




... 19 


5 


.... 25 




... 20 


6 


26 




... 21 


7 


.... 27 




... 22 


8 


.... 28 




... 23 


9 


.... 29 




... 24 


.... 10 


.... 30 




25 


11 


Mat 1 




... 26 


.... 12 


2 




... 27 


.... 13 


3 




... 28 


.... 14 


4 




... 29 


.... 15 


5 




... 30 


.... 16 


G 




31 


.... 17 


7 



Women as Wives and Mothers. 



157 



AUGUST. 


Date of becoming 


Date of 


Date of expected 


Pregnant. 


Quickening. 


Confinement. 


August 1 


December 18 


Mat 8 




2 


19 


9 




3 


20 


10 




4 


21 


.... 11 




5 


22 


12 




6 


23 


13 




7 


24 


14 




8 


25 


15 




9 


26 


16 




10 


27 


17 




11 


28 


18 




12 


29 


19 




13 


30 


20 




14 


31 


21 




15 


January 1 


22 




16 


2 


23 




17 


3 


24 




18 


4 


.... 25 




19 


5 


26 




20 


6 


27 




21 


7 


28 




22 


8 


29 




23 


9 


30 




24 


10 


31 




25 


11 


June 1 




26 


12 


2 




27 


13 


3 




28 


14 


4 




29 


15 


5 




30 


16 


6 




31 


".... 17 


7 



158 



Woman^s Medical Compajiion. 



SEPTEMBER. 


Date of becoming 


! 

Date of 


Date of expected 


Pregnant. 


Quickening. 


Confinement. 


September 1 


Jaxuabt 18 


Jr>-E 8 


2 


19 


9 






3 


20 


10 






4 


21 


11 






5 


.... 22 


12 






6 


23 


13 






7 


2i 


14 






8 


25 


15 






9 


26 


16 






10 


27 


17 






11 


2^ 


IS 






12 


29 


19 






13 


30 


20 






U 


31 


21 






15 


Eebruart 1 


.... 22 






16 


.... 2 


23 






17 


3 


24 






]8 


4 


25 






19 


5 


2^ 






20 


6 


21 






21 


7 


28 






22 


8 


29 






23 


9 


30 






24 


10 


JULT 1 






25 


11 


.... 2 






1(^ 


12 


3 






27 


13 


4 






2^ 


U 


5 






29 


15 


6 






30 


16 


7 



Women as Wires and Mothers. 



159 



OCTOBER. 



Date of becoming 


Date of 


Date of expected 


Pregnant. 


Quickening. 


Confinement. 


October 1 


February 17 


July 8 


2 


18 


9 






3 


19 


10 






4 


20 


11 






5 


21 


12 






6 


22 


13 






7 


23 


14 






8 


24 


15 






9 


25 


16 






10 


1^ 


17 






11 


27 


18 






12 


28 


19 






13 


March 1 


20 






U 


2 


21 






15 


3 


22 






16 


4 


.... 23 






17 


5 


24 






18 


6 


25 






19 


7 


26 






20 


8 


27 






21 


9 


28 






22 


10 


29 






23 


11 


30 






24 


12 


31 






25 


13 


AUGTTST 1 






26 


14 


2 






27 


15 


3 






28 


.... 16 


4 






29 


17 


5 






30 


18 


6 






31 


19 


7 



160 



Woman s Medical Companion. 



NOVEMBER. 


Date of becoming 


Date of 


Date of expected 


Pregnant, 


Qnickening. 


Confinement. 


NOTZMBEK 1 


^Iakch 20 


August S 


.... 2 


21 


9 






3 


22 


10 






4 


23 


11 






5 


24 


12 






6 


25 


13 






7 


26 


14 






8 


27 


15 






9 


28 


16 






10 


29 


17 






11 


30 


18 






12 


31 


19 






13 


Apeil 1 


20 






14 


2 


21 






15 


3 


22 






16 


4 


23 




.. 


. 17 


.... 5 


24 




.. 


18 


6 


25 




.. 


19 


.... 7 


26 




.. 


20 


8 


27 




.. 


21 


9 


28 




.. 


22 


10 


29 






23 


11 


30 






24 


12 


31 






25 


13 


September 1 




... 


2^ 


14 


2 




... 


27 


15 


3 




... 


28 


16 


4 




... 


29 


17 


.... 5 




... 


30 


18 


6 




- 





Women as Wives and Mothers, 



161 



DECEMBER. 



Date of becoming 


Date of 


Date of expected 


Pregnant. 


Quickening. 


Confinement. 


December 1 


April 19 


September 7 


2 


20 


8 






3 


21 


9 






4 


22 


10 






5 


23 


11 






6 


24 


12 






7 


25 


13 






8 


26 


14 






9 


.... 27 


15 






10 


28 


16 






11 


29 


17 






12 


30 


18 






13 


Mat 1 


19 






14 


2 


20 






15 


3 


21 






16 


4 


22 






17 


5 


23 






18 


6 


24 






19 


7 


25 






20 


8 


26 






21 


9 


27 






22 


10 


28 






23 


11 


29 






24 


12 


30 






25 


13 


October 1 






26 


14 


2 






27 


15 


3 






28 


16 


4 






29 


17 


5 






30 


18 


6 






CI 


19 


7 



162 Woman^s Medical Co7np anion, 

PAHTTmmox, OR coxrrxuMir^T. 

You hare now arriYed at the tliird great epocli of jour 
life, on the happy consummation of which all your hopes of 
future happiness, comfort, and usefulness depend. In a 
few short hours an entirely new world will have opened to 
your vision, a new and inexhaustible source of joy, affec- 
tion, responsibility, and fond anticipation will spring up in 
your heart, and the httle being whom you are now about 
to introduce into the world will awaken within you feehngs 
to which you have hitherto been a stranger, and which 
language would utterly fail to describe. TTe will, of coiuse, 
suppose that your physician is in attendance, and that the 
nurse, — whom you have selected on account of her ex- 
perience, genial temperament, and skill in the execution of 
the critical and onerous duties of her position, — has made 
all the necessary preparations for the comfort and safety of 
her patient and the •• httle stranger" now about to make its 
advent. Under these circumstances, it is but natural and 
proper that you should look forward to a happ}' and suc- 
cessful tenn illation of your present trouble, for past ex- 
perience demonstrates that, where both parents are in a 
normally healthy condition, and ordinary care has been 
taken, not more than one case in two hundred has a dis- 
astrous or unfavorable termination, either for the mother or 
child. 

CHIIiI>BBRTH. 

Labor, as we have said, generally takes place at the end 
of two hundred and eighty days from conception ; but it 
is not absolutely- certain, for it sometimes occurs pre- 
maturely, or may be prolonged to the two hundred and 
ninetieth day, especially in first cases. The commencement 
of actual labor is usually preceded by some of the following 
premonitory symptoms : agitation, nervous trembhng. low- 



Women as Wives and Mothers. 163 

ness of spirits, irritability of the bladder, with frequent 
desire to urinate, nausea and vomiting, flj'ing pains through 
the abdomen, followed by an increased mucous discharge. 

The occurrence of true labor-pains may soon be looked 
for after the premonitory^ symptoms we have described. 
The pains usually commence in the back, but sometimes 
the}' are fii'st felt at the lower and front part of the abdo- 
men, and extend to the loins and lower part of the back. 
The}' are not constant, but periodical or intermittent, com- 
ing on at regular intervals of longer or shorter duration. 
At the commencement they are not actual pains, but rather 
a feeling of uneasiness. When active pains first begin, they 
are slight and of short duration, lasting but a few moments, 
and with intervals of rest lasting from half an hour to an 
horn- or more. B}- degrees they become more and more 
frequent, gradually increasing in intensity until labor is 
completed, which usually takes from four to six hours. 

Anxiet}^ on account of the length of labor should never be 
indulged in. If the position of the child is right, protracted 
labors are no more dangerous than short ones. First labors 
are generall}- longer than subsequent ones. Your medical 
attendant and nurse having attended to the requirements of 
yourself and your new-born babe, your own course of action 
is self-evident; viz., to render implicit obedience to their 
instructions, banish all anxiety or thought from 3'our mind, 
and com't that rest and sleep your exhausted frame so 
m-gently requires. 

EVSTRUCTIOIV TO NURSES IIV PARTUBITIOW OR COST- 
FIIVEMEIVT. 

It is of primary importance that every woman should be 
more or less conversant with the necessary cares and duties 
of a Ijing-in chamber, for the piu-pose, not of making them 
poor physicians, but of fitting them to become competent. 



164 Woman's Medical Companion, 

efRcient, and trnstworth}' nm^ses, so qualified that in cases 
of emergency the}' may render intelligent assistance. 

It not unfrequently happens, especially in quick cases, 
that the medical attendant may be detained, and delivery 
take place before he arrives. In such a case how important 
that the nm'se should be capable of meeting the emergency, 
and seeming the safety of both mother and child ! 

Though, as I have before observed, labor is a perfectly 
natm-al process, and the majority of cases would terminate 
favorably with none present but an ordinary nurse, yet 
events may occur which would call for prompt interference, 
and such interference as none but a well-educated and quali- 
fied medical man could afibrd. 



PREPARATIOiVS FOR THE BIRTH. 



Immediately on 3^om' arrival you should take care that j 
every necessary preparation is made for the occasion : the i 
room should be put in perfect order, the clothing for both j 
mother and child be placed in readiness, arranged in the j 
order in which they will be required, and x)laced in such a j 
convenient position that they can be obtained without i 
trouble. You should also have convenient a pau' of sharp i 
scissors and a couple of short pieces of strong cotton cord. 

As soon as possible 3'ou should " make the bed,'* that is, 1 
place a square of oiled silli or rubber sheet over the mat- | 
tress, to protect it and the bedclothes from the "dis- 
charges." Over this place the under-blanket and sheet, • 
and upon them two or three sheets folded square. These j 
will absorb the greater portion of the discharges, lea\ing 
the dr}' bed-hnen beneath. 

When you have put the patient to bed, draw up her 
night-gown above the hips, to escape soihng. Assist her 



Women as Wives and Mothers. 165 

to the best of yoiu' abilit}^ in promoting the expulsive pains 
and mitigating her sufferings. 

Place 3^our patient in the most convenient position for the 
delivery, — on the left side, and near the edge of the bed, 
the knees drawn up, and a pillow between them. When 
the last pai-n, which expels the head of the child, comes, 
receive the child upon 3'om' extended hands, taking care 
that the mnbilical cord is not wound round the child's neck ; 
wait patientl}^ until the entire body is expelled, and then 
convey the bod}' to a sufficient distance to avoid the dis- 
charges ; place it in such a position that it shall rest easy 
and breathe freel}'. 

As soon as respiration is fully established, the lunbihcal 
cord should be tied at about two inches from the navel, and 
again a few inches further on, cutting the cord between the 
two ligatm'es with the scissors. 

As soon as the cord is tied and cut, the child should be 
wrapped up closely in a soft flannel blanket which has pre- 
yiousl}' been well warmed, and then be removed. 

Immediately after the bu'th the binder should be applied 
to the mother. This ma}' consist of a folded towel, or other 
broad bandage, i^laced around the whole abdomen and ex- 
tending down over the hips. It should be pinned firmly, 
but not too tight. Be careful to have it smooth, so as to 
give an even support to the whole abdomen. This is 
especially serAdceable for the first few weeks, particularly in 
the case of feeble women, and also when the patient suffers 
faintness immediately after deliver}'. If j^roperly applied at 
first, it is very useful in maintaining a certain degi'ee of 
contraction of the uterus, and giving support to the abdom- 
inal walls. It also assists in promoting a return to the 
natirral condition of the abdomen, preventing that loose, 
flabby state of the abdominal walls which so frequently fol- 
lows confinement. I recommend that it should be worn 



166 Woman's Medical Companion. 

some time after getting up, as it has a happy effect in pre- 
serving the natural form and dimensions, especially of 
women who have many children in the course of a few 
years. 

After the placenta or after-birth has been taken awa^', a 
warm napkin should be applied to the external parts, and 
the binder tightened, if necessary. The soiled bed-linen 
should then be removed, the night-dress drawn down, and 
the patient be induced to sleep. After a few hours' rest, 
the napkin should be removed, the parts washed with soft 
warm water, to which a few drops of the tincture of arnica 
should be added, and another napkin apphed. This opera- 
tion should be repeated twice or thrice per day for the first 
few days. 

The room should be kept neat and clean, well lighted, 
and well ventilated, and of an equal temperatiu-e, between 
67° and 73°. The patient should be kept free from the 
excitement of company and conversation, for the first few 
days at least, all visitors or children being excluded but 
the nurse and attendants. Take care that the patient has 
appropriate and nourishing, but not exciting food, rigidly 
following out the phj^sician's orders, who will direct the 
changes in diet according to the patient's condition. 

The dii-ections as to the care of the infant will be found 
in a subsequent chapter. 



Treatment after Delivery. 167 



CHAPTEE YIII. 

TREATMENT AFTER DELIVERY. 

Many persons labor under the preposterous impression 
that it is necessary to keep the chamber constantly darkened, 
alleging many reasons therefor, the principal of which is, 
that the infant's e3^es are too delicate and sensitive to bear 
the ordinary light of day. It would be just as rational to 
close all the doors, windows, and other apertures to exclude 
the air, on the supposition that the atmosphere was too 
strong for the infantile lungs. It is well enough, for the first 
two or three da3's, that the light should be so modified that 
its rays should not be too strong for both mother and infant ; 
but light, equable temperature, and thorough ventilation 
are as necessary for all in the apartment as food and rest. 
Let the room be neat and dean, light and airy. 

Ventilation is far too frequently neglected. Not many 
years since, the doors of the chamber would be barricaded 
with sand-bags, and the windows closely encased in weather- 
strips or some similar material, to preclude all ingress and 
egress of air, the inmates being thereby obliged to breathe 
over and over again the same vitiated atmosphere, and 
thus made painfully susceptible of puerperal and other 
diseases, which common-sense treatment would have pre- 
vented. 

The temperature of the room should always be kept at a 
given standard, from 67° to 75°. It should not be in- 
creased, the air "vitiated, or jour own health and life endan- 
gered, by the excitement of visitors or children, for the first 
few days at least. All friendly calls should be positively 



168 Woman^s Medical Companion, 

forbidden during the first week, the only persons admitted 
being your physician and your attendants. 

AFTER-PAIIVS. 

These seldom occur as the result of a first confinement^ 
though they are very frequently met with in second and 
subsequent labors. They are the direct result of uterine 
contractions. As a general rule, they commence within half 
an hour after delivery, and ordinarily cease within thirty or 
forty hours, though they may continue longer. They vary- 
much in their frequency, severity, and duration, but are 
usually unaccompanied by any sense of bearing-down. 
Within certain limits, their operation is undoubtedly salutary, 
as they prevent flooding, diminish the size of the uterus, and 
expel its contents. But when they occur in an aggravated 
form, and are unduly protracted, — an occurrence not at all 
uncommon in females of excitable, nervous sensibility,— 
they should be subdued as speedily as possible. 

TREATMEjVT. 

In the event of soreness, local pain, or nervous excite- 
ment supervening, arnica, coifea, and aconitum may be 
given in doses of 10 globules every two or three hours. 
They may also be used in the liquid form externally as a 
lotion. (For other remedies, see Nos. 16, 17, 25, or 26, 
according to circiunstances.) 

FI.OODIIVG AFTER IJELilVERT. 

Of course in all cases it proceeds from the mouths of the 
vessels which have failed to contract after the separation of 
the after-birth. 

One of the most frequent causes of hemorrhage after de- 



Treatment after Delivery, 169 

livery is mental excitement, caused b}^ too much company, 
the worry arising from children's noise, depression of 
spirits from disappointment, and indeed excitement of any 
kind. It is therefore necessary that all excitement should 
be rehgiousl}" avoided, and sleep, that great restorer of 
health and strength, be com'ted. 

TREATMEIVT. 

A drop of the tincture of cinnamon in a tumbler half full 
of water — a teaspoonful every few minutes — has produced 
happy results in exciting contraction of the womb when 
all other remedies have failed. Cold water is a valuable 
auxihary, and in all severe cases should be freely used. 
Cloths dipped in the coldest water should be applied to the 
abdomen and genitals and renewed every few minutes ; or 
pounded ice, if necessary, may be put in bags and applied 
in the same manner. Cold drinks are also of great service. 
(Nos. 24, 219, 220, 221.) 

DTJRATIOIV OF COIVFIIVEMEIVT. 

It will be advisable for you to lie quietly in bed for six or 
eight da3'S after delivery. The length of time, however, 
will, in a great measure, depend upon circumstances ; many 
women are better able to stand upon their feet within six 
daj's than others are within three weeks. Should your 
.general health be poor, your strength exhausted, or the dis- 
charge profuse, amounting to hemorrhage, and producing 
gi'eat debUit}', you will be compelled to occupy your bed or 
couch for as long a period as the s^^mptoms continue. For 
the first nine daj^s, as a rule, the greater part of your time 
should be spent in bed, if even your good health should 
appear to warrant your getting about earlier, as by indis- 
cretion you might bring on local displacements or other 



170 Woinajt's JMedical Companion, 

serious uterine diseases, whicli would take many 3'ears to 
recover from, if even they did not become i)ermanent. After 
this period, you may get up, resting in an easy-chair for 
a short time every day. When twelve or fifteen days have 
elapsed, if you feel pretty strong, it would be advisable to 
take gentle exercise about your room ; but you should not 
resume your ordinary household duties or go up and down 
stairs until the close of the third week, nor are you, in 
reahty, thoroughly recovered until the expiration of the 
sixth week. 

i>iET AXD regime:^ dijrevg coxfevemext. 

By a strict and well-regulated regimen dming confine- 
ment, you will be able to ward off a gTeat man}' accidents. 
Great care must be taken that the utmost cleanliness is 
observed ; in washing the body, warm water should be 
used, being gTadually reduced in temperatm-e, from time 
to time, until it is nearly but not quite cold. The linen 
should be changed at least once in twenty-four hours. The 
food must be eas}^ of digestion, moderate in quantity, and 
not stimulating. For the first thi'ee days it should consist 
of gruel, hght custards, toast, bread, weak black tea, broths, 
and other similar articles. After the thii'd da}', or when the 
supply of milk is fully estabhshed, a httle soup, light, nour- 
ishing meats, such as chicken, lamb, etc., can be partaken 
of, until, gi-adually, the ordinary diet may be resumed 
without danger. 

Ales, wines, coffee, and stimulating diinks generally, 
which are commonly used to promote the secretion of milk, 
should be studiously avoided as being peculiarly injurious. 
Most of these preparations predispose to fcA'ers, and not un- 
frequently to night-sweats. Coffee especially deranges the 
nervous s}'stem8of both mother and child, and produces 
numerous diseases of the digestive organs. For drinks. 



Treatment after Delivery. 171 

weak tea, claret, and cold water, either pure or flavored 
with sirups, are excellent for women in confinement, as is 
also broma, which is a specially nutritious preparation of 
cocoa, and can be procured at any respectable grocery. 

DISEASES FOI^I^OWIIVG PARTURITIOIV. 

The IjOCliia. — The discharge of blood which accom- 
panies dehvery continues for several days afterwards, 
doubtless from the mouths of the vessels exposed by the 
separation of the after-birth. After three or four daj^s the 
character of this discharge changes, and, instead of con- 
tinuing a mere escape of blood, it takes on the character 
of a secretion. This discharge is called the " lochia." For 
the first three or four da3's it continues of a red color, but 
much thinner and more watery than blood ; it then some- 
times becomes thick and yellow, but more frequently 
maintains its watery consistence, and changes its color 
successivel}^ to greenish, yellowish, and lastly that of soiled 
water. 

The duration of the lochial -discharge varies greatly in 
different women ; in some it is thin and scanty, and ceases 
in a few da3^s ; while in others it continues for several 
weeks, and is sometimes so profuse as to almost amount to 
hemorrhage. As this secretion is necessary to health, its 
sudden suppression is generally attended with evil results. 
Frequent washings with soft, warm water should be prac- 
tised as long as it continues. 

Suppression of the Lochia. — This may be 
caused by exposure to cold, errors in diet, or sudden 
mental emotions. The sjnnptoms are generally chilliness, 
fever, thirst, headaches, and occasionally delirium, pain in 
the back, limbs, etc. 



172 JJ^o?Hc7/i's Medical Companioii. 

TREATMEXT. 

TTaiTQ compresses aroiind tlie abdomen, and warm hip 
and foot baths will prove excellent remedial agents. For 
internal remedies, see Xos. 219. 220. 

Excessive or Protracted LiOcMa. — When the 
lochial discharge is too profase or continues too long, 
tepid hip-baths are valuable auxiliaries, and. in all severe 
or obstinate cases, should be freely used ; complete rest and 
good nomishment are indispensable to the correction of 
this derangement. In all affections during or subsecpent 
to partmition. where the svmptoms do not at once succumb 
to the temporary treatment. sklLfLil medical aid should at 
once be obtained. 

aiTLK-FETER. 

About the third or fomth day after confinement you may 
expect your breasts to become distended with milk ; and at 
the same time you may ex^^erience a cldll, followed, more 
or less, by fever and headache. This is called milk-fever. 
It is but seldom, however, that this distm-bance becomes 
sufficiently serious to call for medical interference, espe- 
cially if you nurse your own infant, when the milk can, of 
com-se, be drawn off as soon as it commences to flow. K, 
however, you do not nurse your child, this fever may become 
compUcated with other ailments, which it is necessary to 
prevent. External applications are of little use during 
milk-fever (excepting the arnica lotion). The milk should 
be drawn out as soon as possible, either by child or mu'se ; 
during the continuance of this fever none but the hghtest 
articles of diet should be partaken of, such as gi'uel, boiled 
rice, toast, toasted crackers, weak tea, broma, or other 
equally light food . ( See JVbs. 210.211.212.) 

Suppressed Secretion of 3Iilk, — The secretion 
of milk being a natm-al function, its sudden suppression not 



Treatment after Delivery, 173 

unfrequently produces sudden disorders, such as internal or 
local congestion and inflammation, determination of blood 
to the head, chest, or abdomen, and the usual train of 
sjTnptoms constituting childbed fever. The evil effects 
arising from the suppression of the milk are frequentl}^ of 
so serious a nature that the slightest diminution in the 
supply should excite 3'our apprehension and place you 
upon your guard ; for, in the gTeat majority of cases, at the 
outset of this difficult}^, the flow of milk may be restored by 
the administration of Nos. 210, 211, 212. 

Excessive Secretion of Milk is generally accom- 
panied by painful distention of the breasts, emaciation, 
debilit}^, and not unfrequently initiates nervous and inflam- 
mator}' disorders. In all cases wrap the breasts in cotton 
batting ; it will reduce the swelling and mitigate the pain. 

COIVSTIPATIOIV AT^TER COIVFIIVEMEIVT. 

It is somewhat common to find the bowels inactive for 
some few da3^s after dehvery, the secretion from the 
intestinal tube being partially or wholly suspended ; and 
this is not to be wondered at, when we take into account 
the great changes going on at this time within the female 
organism, whereby a gTeat quantity of liquid is discharged 
from the womb and breasts. This, together with the 
vicarious action of the skin, demonstrating itself by the 
increased perspu'ation, amply compensates for the tempo- 
rary inactivity of the alimentary canal ; and, by this 
provision of nature, the balance of the s^^stem is kept up. 

TREATMENT. 

We cannot too strongi}' condemn the use of aperients in 
such cases ; as they only tend to promote irritation, which 
is indeed but the stepping-stone to inflammation. And, 
besides, the relaxation thus produced always interferes 



174 Woma7t's Medical Companion, 

Tvith the proper secretion of tlie milk. It was, and still 
is, to a great extent, among " old-school " ph^^sicians, the 
practice to give a mild cathartic on the second or third 
day after delivery. What reason or ntility there can 
possibh^be in such an unwarrantable interference, is totall}' 
bej'ond our comprehension. Natui'e purposely- pro^ades 
other means of relieving the system, in order that the 
patient shall be undisturbed until the uterine organs have 
been enabled to recuperate their energies and resume their 
normal form and position. We have frequenth' known 
the use of- cathartics at this time to produce the most 
serious results ; but we have never yet seen an instance 
where any trouble has arisen from this temporary inactivity 
of the bowels. As a general thing, the bowels will move 
spontaneously about the fifth or sixth da3\ In very obsti- 
nate cases, which seldom occur, an injection of lukewarm 
water, with hnseed oil, will produce the desired result. 
(Nos. 11, 27, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183.) 

BIARRIICEA AFTER COjVFI]VEMEi\'T. 

This should always be looked upon as a highty dangerous 
condition, and prompt means should at once be taken for its 
speed}^ removal. It is generally caused by cold, errors in 
diet, or the abuse of aperient medicines. 

TREATMEiVT. 

For appropriate treatment see Nos. 12, 190, 191, 192. 

RETEXTIOIV OF URIIVE, OR PAIjVFUI. IJRKVATIOX, 
DUKEVG COJVFIIVEMEiVT. 

It not unfrequently happens, especially after severe labor, 
that the neck of the bladder, and the whole tract of the 
urethi^a becomes extremel}' sensitive, causing painful emis- 



Treatment after Delivery, 175 

sions, and sometimes even entire retention of urine. .This 
sensitiveness arises from the great amount and long-con- 
tinued pressure to which the parts have been subjected. 

Retention of the urine, when it lasts for an}^ considerable 
length of time, is an extremely dangerous affection, because 
if relief is not obtained, and the pressure on the inner sur- 
face of the bladder is not relieved b}^ the removal of the 
accumulated water, inflammation must necessarily follow. 
Fortunately, complete retention is seldom met with, and the 
painful and difficult emissions of urine, which are frequent, 
as a general thing, ^ield readily to treatment. The appli- 
cation of warm fomentations to the parts will sometimes 
be of great benefit, or sitting over a pan containing warm 
water will often have the desired effect. 

SORE NIPPIiES. 

This frequent and exceedingly annoying complaint may, 
in a large majority of cases, be prevented if proper care of 
the breasts is taken previous to confinement. Of this we 
have spoken at large in the article on " Preparation of the 
Breasts." There appears to be a constitutional tenderness 
of the skin in some females, which predisposes it, upon 
the slightest occasion, to the development of cracks and 
sores of a most distressing nature, which at times prove 
most obstinate to heal. Wherever a tendency of this kind 
exists, the utmost care should be taken to avoid the least 
irritation or abrasion of the skin, either by 3^our clothing, 
b}^ a shield, if you use one, or by the breast-pump. When 
a shield. is made use of, it should be frequently and carefully 
removed, and the parts bathed with a weak solution of 
tincture of arnica, or brandy and cold water. This will 
obviate the otherwise certain result of tenderness and con- 
sequent excoriation. 

There is no doubt that many cases of broken breasts owe 



176 ■■ Woman's Medical Companion. 

their origin to the reluctance of the mother to encounter the 
pangs of suckhng her infant while these cracks and fissures 
remain unhealed. The most frequent form of sore nipples 
consists of a long, narrow ulcer, about as wide as a horse- 
hair, and varying in length from the sixteenth of an inch to 
the whole ckcumference of the nipple. 

The chief difficulty in healing sores of this nature, jovi 
will readil}^ observe, arises from their being constant!}' torn 
open afresh by the efforts of the child in nursing. It is, 
therefore, ver}' important, especiall}' where the fissures are 
deep and gape open, that some means should be devised to 
keep the edges pressed together. This can be accomphshed 
with a narrow bit of adhesive plaster, or 3'ou can spread some 
adhesive salve upon a narrow piece of ribbon; the latter, on 
account of its pliabilit}', I have found to answer the purpose 
better than the common adhesive plaster. I have also used 
arnicated collodion in the same manner with great success. 
This, as well as the other application, will admit of the 
child's nursing without tearing the fissures oj^en afresh. 

In all cases, as soon as the child has left the breast, the 
nipple should be washed with cold water, to which a few 
drops of tincture of arnica have been added, and should 
then be thoroughh' dried. Then, taking the nipple between 
the thumb and the first two fingers, gentty compress it. 
This is done for the pm-pose of disgorging the small vessels 
that have become distended by the suction of the child. As 
soon as 3'ou have rendered the nipple soft and fiexible, cover 
it over thickl}' with powdered wheaten starch or gum arable. 
Pulverized white sugar, according to Dr. Hering, makes an 
excellent application. Should this precautionary treatment 
prove inefficient, and the fissure in the nipple become sore, 
and refuse to heal in spite of all 3'our care and attention, 
you will then have to resort to the use of internal remedies, 



Treatment after Delivery, 177 

to counteract or remove the constitutional taint to wMch 
the disease generall}^ owes its origin. 

TREATMEIVT. 

In the majority of cases, sulphiu* would seem to be spec- 
iall}' indicated, especially when the nipples are sore and 
chapped with deep fissures around the base, which bleed and 
burn hke fire. ^Vhen these fissm-es are large, bleed easih^, 
and prove obstinate to heal, 3'ou will generally find them to 
contain little granulations of proud flesh. In all such cases, 
appl}' burnt alum, or pulverized tobacco ashes and burnt 
alum in combination. 

All cases of sore nipples, however, do not present them- 
selves in the form above described ; sometimes the nipple 
becomes abraded or excoriated, and even suppuration 
occasionally takes place. A very important point in the 
successful treatment of those cases is, to keep the parts 
p)erfectl3" dry. This, I have already remarked, can best be 
accomplished by wrapping the nipple in pulverized starch 
or gum arable. There are numerous domestic remedies, 
in the form of powders, salves, and lotions, which have 
been used with various results. Borax, dissolved in mu- 
cilage of shppery elm, makes a pleasant and serviceable 
wash ; powdered potter's clay, sprinkled upon the parts, 
frequently effects a cure. Rehance, however, cannot be 
placed upon any form of treatment, especially in severe 
cases, except the internal administration of appropriate 
remedies. In all cases where external applications of any 
description have been made use of, the nipple should be 
carefully cleansed with a little warm milk and water before 
presenting it to the child. 

GATHERED OR BROKEIV BREASTS. 

To make the nature and importance of this disorder per- 



178 Woman's Medical Companion. 

fectly plain and intelligible, we will give a brief anatomical 
description of the female breast. Beneath the skin on the 
front of the chest, there lies — one on each side — a large 
secretory organ, called the mammary gland. It is composed 
of milk-tubes, nerves, arteries, veins, and lymphatics, the 
whole being inclosed by a fibrous investment, which also 
sends out i^rolongations through the glands, dividing it into 
numerous lobes. Between these frequent membranous 
divisions, especially near the skin, exist numerous small 
cells in which fat is deposited, giving to the sui^face its 
beautiful, soft, smooth, hemispherical form. 

THE MAMMARY GliAWDS. 

The nipple is only a bundle of milk-tubes, nerves and 
blood-vessels, gathered together and covered with a thin 
derm, or skin. 

The milk-ducts or tubes, resembling little canals, vary 
from ten to fifteen in number. When distended they are 
about the size of a small goose-quill. Starting from the 
extremity of the nipple they enter the breast, soon become 
divided and subdivided, becoming finer and finer as they 
go inward, until each minute tube terminates in a small 
hollow globule or granule about the size of a mustard-seed, 
from the inner surface of which the milk is secreted. The 
number of these little granules it would be impossible to 
count. If you should take a small s^^ringe and inject each 
of these ten or fifteen distinct milk-tubes from the nipple 
with different colored substances, thus filling one canal 
with yellow, another with green, a third with violet, and so 
on, until the whole breast was completely distended, you 
would see no amalgamation of colors, no uniting or coales- 
cing of tubes, but each injection would follow its own canal, 
through all its divisions and subdivisions, to its granular 
termination. Thus, you observe, we can trace the course 



Treatment after Delivery. 179 

of each milk -tube from its exit at the nipple, through all its 
divisions and divergences, to the actual minute milk-pro- 
ducing granule, just as we can trace a river on the map 
from the broad Atlantic, where it empties, to the very 
springiets among the mountains, where it has its origin. 

The quantity of milk that a given gland will produce at 
one time does not so much depend upon the size of the 
organ as upon its secretor}^ power. With a breast-pump 
some women can draw out a half-pint from one breast at 
one sitting ; not that it was actually all present in the 
breast when she began, but was secreted, as it were, 
upon demand, the flow of milli only ceasing when the 
secretor}^ power of the gland becomes exhausted, and then 
a period of rest is demanded. To carry on this process of 
milk-secretion, it is necessary that the organ should be 
supplied with a large amount of blood and nerve-power. 
Accordingl}", we find numerous branches from large arteries 
distributed throughout the breast, while by a great number 
of nerve fibres it is intimately connected with the two great 
nervous systems. 

CAUSES OF DISEASE. 

Dm'ing lactation the breasts are in a high state of 
activit}^, which, together with their intimate connection 
with the rest of the S3^stem, renders them exceedingly liable 
to partake of any disorder, either ph3^sical or mental, which 
happens to aff'ect a woman while nursing. Thus we shall 
find ague in the breast, as it is called, arising from a cold, 
a chill, fright, anger, fear, grief, etc. 

Gathered breasts not unfrequently arise from a too tardy 
application of the child to the breasts, or from sudden ces- 
sation of suckling, occasioned either by the death of the 
child or an unwillingness on the part of the mother to 



180 Woman's Medical Companion. 

encounter the pangs of nm-sing the infant, consequent upon 
sore nipples. 

When the breasts become distended with milk, and all 
the little milk -tubes are filled and crowded against one i 
another, you will often find it incomijressible, and its sensi- 
bility so greatl}^ increased that the least handhng produces 
great pain. Now, unless this tension is speedil}' reduced, 
as a natural consequence, inflammation must follow, or 
fever soon arises, ushered in by rigors or severe chills. 

A chill acts in the same manner, or at least is productive 
of the same results ; the breast increases in size from con- 
gestion of its blood-vessels and consequent obstruction of 
the milk- tubes ; and the result, if not prevented b}^ prompt 
interference, as before, will be inflammation and suppura- 
tion. 

TREATMENT. 

The treatment is, of course, to take away the milk, when 
the breasts soon become cool and flaccid, and the freest 
handling produces no pain. 

Do not let the breasts become distended ; appl}^ the child 
often, — as often as necessary to keep the breasts in proper 
order. 

Where hard lumps or cakes are felt deep down in the 
breast 3^ou must, by some means or other, soften them, 
and extract the milk. These lumps, or cakes, as the}^ 
are commonly called, are caused by the milk-tubes becom- 
ing clogged up ; or rather they become distended, and 
crowd against each other, until they are so compressed 
that the flow of milk is obstructed ; and thus one division 
of the gland becomes caked, while the rest remain open. 

Nm-ses make use of all sorts of embrocations and hot 
applications to scatter the cakes, which simpl}^ means to 
soften and relax these particular tubes so that the milk can 



Treatment after Delivery. 181 

flow. And this inust be done, or inflammation, followed by 
suppuration , will be the result. 

AMien the breasts become swollen and very tender, the 
following receipts may be successfully used: Nos. 29, 136, 
137, 138. 

Should the swelling and tenderness subside, but there 
still remain limips or cakes in the breast, j^ou will find 
relief from applying a plaster made of beeswax and sweet 
oil. The gTcat art in preventing gathered breasts is to 
keep the breasts well drawn ; -if the child is unable to do it, 
then3'ou must resort to nipple-glasses, the breast-pump, or, 
what is better than either, the lips of the nurse or some 
other adult person. 

You will seldom find a nurse who will acknowledge that 
ever such a thing as a broken breast did occur to a patient 
of whom she had the entire charge ; but all such assertions 
it is well to take with a few grains of allowance, for in spite 
of all precautions the breast will sometimes gather and 
break. 

In the early stages of this disorder, it is best to abstain 
from appMng warm poultices, as they have a tendency to in- 
volve a still larger part of the breast within the suppurative 
sphere. But as soon as the gathering points, or when it 
becomes evident that it must soon break, it should be hur- 
ried along as fast as possible ; and if j^ou employ a ph3^si- 
cian, he will at this period undoubtedly lance it. Ground 
flax-seed makes the best poultice : it should be applied 
wann, and changed once in three hours. 

When the abscess has opened and the matter has been 
discharged, the breast should be compressed either by 
strips of adhesive plaster or a bandage. This you will find 
will facilitate the process of healing. 

Should the above remedies fail to produce a cure, you can 
have recourse to Nos. 29, 236, 137, 138. 



182 Woman's Medical Companion. 

During all the time that the breasts have been gathering, 
and still after the abscess has broken, the infant should be 
permitted to nurse ; for you must recollect that milk is se- 
creted by that portion of the gland which is not involved in 
the abscess, and it must be withdrawn. If the infant can- 
not, or refuse to do it, j^ou must resort to artificial means. 

Diet. — The diet should be plain and nourishing, but 
not stimulating. 

CHIIiI>BEI> FEVER, OR PUERPERAIi PERITOIVITIS. 

I shall not enter into any detailed description of this dis- 
ease, because I do not deem it safe for any but an experi- 
enced ph3^sician to attempt its treatment. I shall, therefore, 
briefly give its nature and characteristic sj^nptoms, together 
with such remedial measures as will be adapted to the pre- 
monitor}^ s^^mptoms and first stages of an attack. 

Definition. — Childbed fever, or puerperal peritonitis, 
as it is technically called by physicians, is an inflammation 
of the peritoneum, or serous membrane lining the abdomen 
and covering the bowels. It is not unfrequently complicated 
with inflammation of the womb and its appendages. 

Causes. — Among the exciting causes of this disease, 
may be enumerated, violence during delivery, taking cold, 
diarrhoea, irritation of the bowels induced by cathartic medi- 
cines, severe mental emotions, suppressed secretion of milk, 
and so on. 

Symptoms. — Childbed fever is generally preceded 
or attended by shivering, and sickness or vomiting, and is 
marked by pain in the abdomen, which is sometimes very 
much distended, though in other cases it is at first confined 
to one small spot. The abdomen soon becomes swelled and 
tense, and the tension rapidly increases. The pulse is fre- 
quent, small, and sharp ; the skin hot, the tongue either 
clean or white and dry ; the patient thirsty ; she vomits 



Treatment after Delivery. 183 

freqiienth% and the milk and lochia are usuall}^ obstructed. 
These symptoms often come on ver}^ acutely, but the}^ may 
also approach insidiousl}'. But whether the early symptoms 
come rapidly or slowlj-, they soon increase, the abdomen 
becoming as large as previous to delivery, and often so 
tender that the weight of the bed-clothes can scarcely be 
endured ; the patient also feels much pain when she turns ; 
the respiration becomes difficult, and sometimes a cough 
comes on, which aggravates the distress ; or it appears from 
the first to be attended with pain in the side, as a prominent 
symptom. Sometimes the patient has a great inclination to 
belch, which alwa3's gives pain. The bowels are either cos- 
tive or the patient purges bilious or dark-colored faeces. 
These symptoms are more or less acute, according to the 
extent to which the peritoneum is affected. They are, at 
first, milder and more protracted in those cases where the 
inflammation begins in the uterus, and in such the pain is 
not A'ciy great or very extensive for some time. In fatal 
cases, the swelling and tension increase, the vomiting con- 
tinues, the pulse becomes very frequent and irregular, the 
extremities become cold, and the pain ceases rather sud- 
denh'. The patient has unrefreshing slumber, and some- 
times deluium, but she may remain sensible to the last. 

TREATMENT. 

In all such cases, but little can be done until the arrival 
of a plwsician ; but temporary alleviation can be secured by 
administering No. 30, 134, or 135. 

MtLK-XiEfi, OR CRURA!. PHXEBITIS. 

Definition, — Milk-leg is the common name given to a 
peculiar form of disease which sometimes affects women 
dining confinement. As the name implies, it was once sup- 
posed that the milk had fallen into the woman's leg. I 



184 Woman's Medical Companion, 

cannot say that ph^^sicians ever took this view of the disor- 
der, but certainly the people did, and it is no uncommon 
occurrence to meet with persons who still insist that the 
milk has gone into the leg, because the limb is swollen and 
looks vv'hite ; and besides, the milk has partially or entirely 
left the breast. All the reasoning in the world will not 
make them beheve differently. But it is the sheerest non- 
sense to say that the milk has fallen into the woman's leg, 
for such a thing is impossible. 

Physicians, now, who know anything about the disease, 
call it crural phlebitis, which name signifies inflammation of 
the veins of the leg ; and this is the true seat and nature of i 
the affection. The swelling of the limb is due to the effusion j 
of l3'mph and serum from the blood into the cellular tissue. I 

Causes. — The origin of the affection may generally be I 
found in exposure to di'aughts, severe cold, or sudden alter- 
nations of temperature. ! 

Symptoms. — The ordinary premonitory symptoms i 
of an attack of this disease often resemble and are not un- j 
frequently mistaken for after-i^ains. There is uneasiness or I 
pain in the lower part of the abdomen, extending along the j 
brim of the pelvis through the hips. The patient is irrita- 1 
ble, depressed, and complains of great weakness. Often, I 
however, there will be no precursory symptoms, the patient I 
being suddenly seized with pain in the groin or calf of \ 
the leg, and not unfrequently she will complain of pain in 1 
the hip-joint, calling it neuralgia or rheumatism. As soon j 
as the inflammation is fairly set in, the region about the groin I 
becomes tumefied; and in a short time, — twenty-four or | 
forty-eight hours, — the thigh becomes swollen, tense, white, j 
and shiny. The swelling, which sometimes increases the 
limb to the size of a man's body or an elephant's leg, may j. 
be confined to the thigh, or it may extend down to the foot, j 
When the pain commences ni the calf of the leg, the swelling , 



Treatment after Delivery, 185 

is first observed tliere, and graduall}' extends itself up tlie 
leg and thigh. The temperature of the limb is generall}' 
increased, although in some cases it falls below the natural 
standard. Along the course of the inflamed vein, although 
there is great tenderness, there is neither redness nor other 
discoloration. In most cases, the vein may be traced from 
the groin down the thigh, feeling hard, and rolling under 
the finger like a cord. Either leg may be affected, although 
the left appears to be more frequently attacked, and it not 
imfrequentty happens that the sound leg participates in the 
disease before the affection is entirely removed, and then 
it runs a similar course the second time. 

TREATMEjVT. 

The treatment of this disease should be undertaken only 
by an experienced j^hysician. A few remedies, which may 
be used at the commencement of the attack, wiU be found 
at No. 31. 

IVURSIIVG SORE MOUTH. 

In this disease the soft part, and sometimes the whole 
interior of the mouth, becomes very red, and so sensitive 
and tender as to render it almost impossible for the patient 
to partake of any solid food whatever. This is quite a 
different disease from what is generally called canker sore 
mouth. In some females it appears to be constitutional. 
As I have before remarked, the breasts are intimately 
connected with the whole nervous system ; 3^ou will not be 
surprised, therefore, to learn that this form of sore mouth 
arises from the peculiar irritation which the act of nursing- 
produces upon the digestive organs . If not properly treated, 
it sometimes becomes so severe, and is attended with so 
much suffering and debility, that the weaning of the child 
becomes absolutely necessary, and has a magical effect upon 



186 Woman's Medical Companion. 

this disease, — the whole of it vanishing as soon as nursing 
is discontinued. (Nos. 32, 285, will be found serviceable 
remedies.) 

Diet and Hegimen. — The diet of a woman suffer- 
ing from nursing sore mouth should be generous and 
nourishing, but not flatulent. Whatever articles of food 
are found to disagree should be strictly avoided. Exercise 
in the open air would be found beneficial. 

PEHSPIRATIOW AFTER I>EIiIVERT. 

The increased perspiration which takes place immediate^ 
after delivery, and continues for several daj^s, acts, as I 
have before remarked, as a substitute for the suspended 
mucous secretion and consequent inactivity of the alimen- 
tary canal. Therefore, its sudden suppression from expo- 
sure to cold, or a sudden chill, is unavoidably followed by 
some injurious result, not unfrequently gathered breasts, 
diarrhoea, or childbed fever. No. 33 will meet the ordinary 
emergencies of the case. 

EXCESSIVE PERSPIRATIOIV AFTER DEIilVERT. 

Excessive perspiration, besides causing great debility, 
predisposes to other disorders, by the high susceptibilit}^ of 
taking cold which it occasions. It is sometimes occasioned 
by the too high temperature at which your room is kept, in 
which case the remedy is obvious. When it still remains, 
after the proper regulation of the temperature of your room, 
and the removal of all superfluous clothing, • or when the 
perspiration is profuse while lying still, but diminished by 
moving about, remedies No. 34 will prove eflScacious. 



i 

I 



The Care of the Infant, 187 



CHAPTEE IX. 

THE CARE OF THE INFANT. 

Let us now return to the infant, which, you will remem- 
ber, we left wrapped in a warm flannel blanket, and laid 
on one side while the bandage was being applied, and the 
mother otherwise cared for or attended to. If the infant 
appears feeble, and its respiration not well established, the 
skin haying a leaden hue instead of the healthy pink or rose 
color, it should be permitted to remain undisturbed for 
some little time, until it is better able to undergo the fatigue 
of being washed and dressed. Bat if it appears strong, and 
cries lustil}', it may be washed and dressed as soon as 
convenient. Some people use cold water to wash the 
child with, even for the first ablution, under the absurd 
impression that this earl}^ introduction to the vicissitudes of 
temperature will invigorate and harden the child, and thus 
make it less liable to the injurious effects of sudden atmos- 
pheric changes. I hope Providence has endowed you with 
more sense than to imagine that any such happy results 
would follow this barbarous practice. 

WASHIIVG THE IIVFAIVT. 

For the whole period of its uterine existence the infant 
has experienced a uniform temperature of 98° ; now to 
wash it with or put it into a basin of cold water must give 
it a shock, which cannot fail to be highl}^ injurious. I would 
about as soon think of putting the child into a kettle of 
boiling hot water. In my estimation, the temperature of 
the water in which the child is first washed should be as 



188 Woman's Medical Companion. 

Mgh as 90° at least ; and this, you will observe, is still eight 
degrees below the temperatm-e to which, till within a short 
time, it has been accustomed. It is not necessary that you 
should stand with a thermometer in one hand, and a kettle 
of hot water in the other, and thus temper j^our bath to the 
fraction of a degree. All that is necessary is to be certain 
that the water is n:arm and so/?, instead of hard and cold. 

The white caseous substance which, to a greater or less 
extent, covers the bod}^ of every new-born infant, and 
which sometimes adheres with gi'eat tenacit}^, can best be 
removed by rubbing those parts to which it adheres freely 
with hog's lard or sweet oil, until the two substances become 
thoroughly mixed, and then wash ^"ith soap and water. 

Owing to the extreme sensibility of the infant's skin, 3'ou 
should use none but the finest quahty of white soap and a 
soft flannel wash-cloth. This is important, for a slight 
abrasion of the cuticle, or even the least irritation, ma^^ 
cause troublesome sores. After the child has been well 
washed, it should be wiped perfectly dry with a fine, soft 
napkin. 

THE USE OF POTVDERS. 

It is customary, as soon as the child is washed and dried, 
to dust it over with some kind of powder, especially about 
the neck, armpits, and joints, or wherever the skin is folded 
upon itself. I would ad"^ise you to get along without this, 
if 3'ou possibl3^ can, because the powders that are usually 
sold for this purpose are most of them highl}^ injurious ; and 
if 3-our child is proper!}' washed and dried, 3'ou will have 
but little, if an}', call for them. If, however, you think you 
must use something of the kind, pulverized starch is the 
best. Both the washing and dressing of infants should be 
done as expeditiously as possible, and with the greatest 
care, so as neither to hurt or fatigue them. Duiing this 



TJie Care of the Infant. 189 

daily process of washing, whicli sliould not be done lan- 
guidh', but briskl}' and expeditions!}', the mind of the infant 
should be amused and excited. In this manner, the time of 
washing and dressing, instead of being dreaded as a period 
of dail}^ suffering, instead of being painful and one con- 
tinued fit of cr3'ing, will become a recreation and an amuse- 
ment. In this, treat 3'our infant, from the first, as a sensitive 
and intelligent creature. Let everj-thing which must be 
done be made a som*ce, not of pain, but of pleasure, and it 
will then become a source of health, and that both to body 
and mind, — source of exercise to the one and of early 
discipUne to the other. Even at this tender age the little 
creature may be taught to be patient, and even cheerful, 
under sufi'ering. Let it be remembered, that every act of 
the nurse toward the little infant is productive of good or 
evil upon its character as well as its health. Even the acts 
of washing and clothing may be ijiade to disciphne and im- 
prove the temper, or to trj^ and improve it, and may, there- 
fore, be very influential on its happiness in future life. For 
thus it may be taught to endure affliction with patience 
and cheerfulness, instead of crj^ng and fretting at every 
operation necessar}^ to its well-being. The parent and the 
nm'se should, therefore, endeavor to throw their whole mind 
into their duties toward the tender being. And in their 
intention of controlling the infant's temper, let them not 
forget that the first step is to control their own. How often 
have I observ^ed that an unhappy mother is the parent of 
unhapp}'' childi'en. 

I>RESSIIVG THE WAVEIi. 

Most nurses and many physicians have fanciful notions in 
regard to dressing the navel. Some think nothing will do 
but a piece of scorched linen ; others want a flannel, either 
scorched or well besmeared with grease. I am acquainted 



190 Woman's Medical Companion. 

with one old nurse who always keeps a box of powdered cob- 
web, a little of which she sprinkles over the navel before 
doing it up with a piece of scorched linen. Now this is all 
useless ; the simplest way is the best, and that is, to take a 
folded piece of soft, plain cotton or linen cloth, about six 
inches long and three wide ; cut a hole in the centre, and 
pass the cord through. The cord should then be laid up 
toward the child's breast, and the lower end of the linen or 
muslin folded up over it. Over this place a compress, made 
of several thicknesses of soft muslin, about the size of a 
silver dollar, or perhaps a little larger. The whole is to be 
kept in place by the belly-band, which should alwa3^s be 
made of a strip of fine flannel of four or six inches in width. 
This band should be applied smoothly, so as to give equal 
strength to the whole abdomen ; pin it just tight enough to 
keep it in place. For the first few days the condition of the 
navel-cord should be carefully examined, to see that the 
child's movements have not disturbed it, nor caused it to 
bleed. In the course of six or seven days it will become 
separated from the child, when you can remove it. The 
parts are now to be carefully washed, and the compress 
reapplied. If the parts around the navel are not properly 
washed and dried, and perhaps dusted with a little starch- 
powder once or twice a day, they are apt to become red and 
sore. In case of soreness, or inflammation of the umbilicus 
or navel, after the falling off of the ligature, or even before, 
you had better give an occasional dose of sulphur. 

In case there is an evident tendency to rupture of the 
navel, after the ligature has dropped off, great care should 
be taken to apply a proper bandage, and this bandage 
should be worn some time after the cure, as a precautionary 
measure against its return. 



TJie Care of the Infant. 191 



Cr^OTHIlVG OF INFANTS. 

I presume it will be entirel}' useless for me to say one 
word in regard to the infant's dress. Fashion dictates here, 
as well as ahiiost ever^^where else, frequently to the detri- 
ment of the child, and alwa3^s to the great inconvenience of 
the mother. But this has ever been the case, and I pre- 
sume alwa3's will be. However, I would have 3^ou remem- 
ber that the power of generating heat at this early period 
is very feeble indeed, and the child up to this time has been 
confined in a temperature of 98°, and at the same time most 
perfectly protected from the possibihty of atmospheric 
changes. You will therefore see the necessity of clothing 
the infant warml3^ Flannel should always be worn next 
the skin, for various reasons. First, it is warmer, being 
a bad conductor of heat ; and, what is very important, it is 
much lighter than cotton goods ; besides, it is a bad con- 
ductor of electricity. The flannel should of course be hght, 
soft, and of the finest textm-e. In my opinion, if your 
child's clothing were all made of this material, it would be 
far preferable to any other ; jow. would then have a loarm^ 
light dress ; whereas, should j^ou use cotton, it will require a 
much greater weight of it than of flannel to obtain the same 
amount of warmth. Besides, cotton or linen goods do not 
produce upon the skin that healthy degTce of friction which 
flannel does. No doubt you will object to flannel frocks, 
and sa}^ they do not look as nice and prett^^ as tucked or 
ruffled muslin ones do. Well, I do not think they do ; 
but you will acknowledge that health and comfort should 
alwa3-s be studied in preference to appearance. 

Another important item in infants' dress is looseness ; 
the clothes should be so adjusted as to admit of the freest 
motion of the chest and hmbs. The imperfectly developed 
organization of the child, you will bear in mind, is liable to 



192 Woman's Medical Companion. 

compressions and distortions from the most trivial causes ; 
many of the bones are as 3'et but mere hgaments, and as 
easily bent as the twig of a tree ; the ribs, from, the slightest 
pressure, may become crowded from theu' natm'al position, 
making the child x^igeon-breasted, or deformed in, other 
ways. 

THE ESSEIVTIALS OF EVFANTS' CI.OTHIIVG. 

The essentials of the clothing of children are lightness, 
simplicity^ and luarmth. By its being as light as is con- 
sistent with warmth, it will neither encumber the child, nor 
cause any j^aste of its powers ; in consequence of its sim- 
'plicity, it will be readily and. easily put on, so as to prevent 
many cries and tears ; while, by its looseness, it will leave 
full room for the gi'owth and due and regular expansion of 
the entke form, a matter of infinite importance for the 
seeming of health and comfort in after-hfe. Short sleeves 
and low-necked dresses are never suitable^ under any circum- 
stances, for children or 3'oung persons, much less a delicate 
infant. To leave the neck, shoulders, and arms of a child 
nearly or quite bare, however warml}' the rest of the body 
ma}^ be clad, is a sure means of endangering its comfort and 
health ; violent attacks of croup, bronchitis, or even inflamma- 
tion of the lungs, pneumonia, angina, catarrh, general fevers 
in cold seasons of the 3'ear, and bowel complaints in sum- 
mer, and the seeds of pulmonar}^ consumption, are often 
induced b}' this irrational custom ; and it is not improbable 
that the foundation of pulmonar}^ consumption is often thus 
laid during childhood. It is an important precaution, there- 
fore, to have the dress worn by children so constructed as 
to protect the neck, breast, and shoulders, and with sleeves 
long enough to reach the wrist. The fact is, that vanity is, 
in man}^ persons, a stronger passion than parental love ; 
but it should never be forgotten, in reference to the di'ess 



TJie Care of the Infant. 193 

of infants, that the power of generating animal heat is lotvest 
at the time of birth, and gradually increases loith the advanc- 
ing age of the individual till past the period of childhood. 

APPARENT I>EATH, OR ASPHTXIA. 

It sometimes happens, after severe or protracted labor, 
that the new-born infant presents all the appearance of being 
dead ; it does not breathe, the blood does not seem to cir- 
culate, and there is no apparent motion. This may be 
termed the first danger to which the infant is subject on 
its entrance into this world of trouble and vexation. 
Cases of this kind demand the energetic and immediate 
attention of the ph3^sician and nurse ; for, if means are not 
sj)eedily taken to revive it, the child will not probably 
recover from this suspension of vitalit}^ 

The first thing to be done is to place the child in such a 
position that there will be no impediment to the circulation 
through the umbihcal cord ; then wrap the body and limbs in 
warm flannel cloths, and rub the hands and feet with soft, 
warm flannel, or with what perhaps is better, the warm, 
naked hand. Ordinaril}^, this will be suflftcient to reestablish 
the circulation ; the pulsation in the cord will soon manifest 
itself, the action of the heart will become apparent, breath- 
ing will soon follow, and nothing more will be required. 
"When the infant has fully recovered, the cord may be tied 
and divided. Now and then, however, cases do occur which 
do not jield so readil}", but we must not be easily discour- 
aged in our eflbrts, for infants have been restored after 
laboring with them three or four hours ; we should, there- 
fore, persevere, as our eflbrts may ultimately prove suc- 
cessful. 

If, after rubbing the infant with warm flannels, the naked 
hand, or some stimulant, for five or ten minutes, still no 
pulsation shall be felt in the cord, it should be tied and 



194 Woman's Medical Companion. 

cut, and the infant be immersed in a warm bath. While 
in the bath, the friction of the skin should be continued, and 
the chest pressed and rubbed ; also dip 3'our hand in cold 
water or alcohol, and rub the breast. Some j)h3^sicians have 
directed a stream of cold water to be poured upon the chest 
from the spout of a teapot placed some two or three feet 
above the infant, and have found the action very efficacious. 

If, in the course often or fifteen minutes, there is no sign 
of retmiiing animation, or if there is but feeble pulsation 
of the cord, and limbs relaxed, or if the face is purple and 
swollen, taHar emetic should be administered ; and if this 
fail, opium should be tried. 

All other means having proved unsuccessful, artificial in- 
flation of the lungs should be attempted. This ma}' be 
done by placing 3'our mouth over the child's mouth and 
blowing gentl}', so as to inflate the lungs, at the same time 
pressing the child's nostrils between the finger and thumb, 
so as to prevent the air from passing out through the nose. 
After the lungs are filled, the chest should be compressed 
gently with the hand. Care must be taken not to force too i 
much air into the child's lungs, lest 3'ou injure them. An 1 
excellent internal remedy will be found in Prescription No. j 
35 ; and a mild current of electricity carefully applied to j 
the spinal column, nerve centres, and chest, will oftentimes ' 

prove beneficial. 

1 

ST\EriIiI]VG AND ELONGATION OF THE HEA1>. j 

It is quite common for the head of the infant to be swollen ■ 
and elongated immediately after birth, and especially when 
the labor has been diflScult or protracted ; sometimes the i 
head is so drawn out or swollen as to be shockingly de- 
formed ; and to the uninitiated its appearance not unfre- f 
quently causes gi'eat alami. In most cases this is but a 
trifling affection, and generally disappears of its own accord. 



The Care of the Infant. 195 

In case the swelling be extensive, or does not disappear in 
a day or two, repeated washings with cold water or a weak 
solution of tincture of arnica will prove beneficial. 

SW^EIil^IXG OF THE IIVFA^VT'S BREASTS. 

Sometimes at bu'th, or immediately after, the breasts of 
infants are found inflamed and swollen. It is onl}'^ a simple 
inflammation of the gland, and should be treated as such. 
Our first endeavor should be to reduce the swelling ; and to 
accomplish this, we generall}'- cover the breast with a piece 
of lint or soft linen, dipped in sweet-oil. This is all the 
apphcation I have ever found it necessary to make. Some- 
times, when the inflammation has been excessive, I have 
deemed it ad\'isable to apply a poultice of chamomile flowers 
steeped in warm water. 

Some authors speak of a propensity on the part of nurses 
to squeeze the breasts, under the absurd impression that 
there is milk, or some like mattej*, in them which should 
be pressed out. I never have had the misfortune to meet 
with such ignoramuses ; but, nevertheless, I can easily con- 
ceive how they might do a considerable amount of injury by 
exciting an inflammation which would end in the suppura- 
tion and disorganization of the whole breast, and thereby, in • 
females, destro}' its usefulness forever. 

THE mecoivitj:»i, or first discharge from the 

BOWEIiS. 

The first evacuation from the infant's bowels consists of 
a dark, bottle-green substance, called the meconium. 
Nm-ses are never content until the infant has had a free 
evacuation of the bowels ; and, to make sure of an early 
movement, they, upon its first arrival, give the little stranger 
a good dose of some laxative trash. I have often wondered 
if an infant had the use of its reasoning faculties, what 



196 Womaji's Medical Companion, 

would be its first impression of the inhabitants of this 
world, where the ladies in attendance, without even saying, 
" By yoiu' leave, sir," just open its mouth and force down 
a teaspoonful of molasses, or perhaps the same quantity of 
some nauseous compound. It must think it had come into a 
strange land. 

Now, this does seem to me the most absm'd thing in all 
the world. Suppose the large intestines are full of meco- 
nium : hare the}' not been in the same condition for a long 
time ? ^Tiat is the great haste to get rid of it ? "Will it 
kill the child if it remains there a few hom's longer ? Xatm-e, 
who is wise in all her dealings, will take just as good care 
of the bowels as of the brain or lungs. In fact, she has 
alread}' made provision for the expulsion of this bugbear 
in the kind and quality of the milk secreted. in the mother's 
breast. But it is a fact that some people, in theu' self- 
conceit, imagine themselves wiser than then* Creator, and, 
at the very threshold of life, commence marring the truh" 
beautiful frame of God's image. 

Although it may seem perfectly rational that the earl}' 
contents of the bowels, called the meconium, should be 
pm-ged off, you should never forget that natm-e has made 
wise provisions for this very want. 

As soon as the mother feels herself sufficiently recovered 
to permit it, the infant should be placed at the breast, where 
it will obtain just the quality and quantity of medicine neces- 
sary for its welfare. 

THE rSES OF COIiOSTRFM. 

The generally received opinion is, I am well aware, that at 
this early period there is no milk secreted, and this is true ; 
but every physician knows, and it is high time that mothers 
and nurses were aware of the fact, also, that there is secreted 
within the mother's breast, long before the bu-th of the 



The Care of the Infant. 197 

infant, a fluid technically called colostrmn, exactly fitted for, 
and containing the properties to produce just the necessary 
amount of mechanical action in the alimentary canal to 
assist in the expulsion of the meconium. 

If the mother is able to nurse her child, absohitel}^ nothing 
should be allowed to enter its mouth, for the first few days 
at least, but what it gets from her, except perhaps a little 
cool water, which all children should have. The nurse 
should always be careful to wash the infant's mouth out well 
with cool water every morning. 

The colostrum fm-nished by the breast does not act like 
physic, producing a succession of stools, but more slowly, 
so that it may take two or three days for all the meconium 
to pass away ; but when the work is thus once done, it is 
well done. 

Mothers need be under no apprehension should a tempo- 
rary delay occur in the passing of the meconium ; far 
greater evil results from the violent method taken for its 
expulsion than could possibly occur from its continuance 
in the alimentary canal for a longer period than natural. 

Should, however, an unusually long period elapse, and 
the child appear costive, uneasy, and restless, a few 
teaspoonfuls of warm sugar and water may be given to it, 
which will generally have the desired eflect. 

ISITRSING. 

Every healthy and well-organized woman should support 
her child from the natural secretion of her own bosom, 
which is the dicta of both nature and reason. The mortality 
among infants fed wholly on artificial nourishment is far 
greater than among those which are nourished from the 
maternal source. It is extremely difficult to estimate the 
injury sustained by the infant being deprived of its natural 
food ; as farinaceous and other artificial substitutes, however 



198 Woman* s Medical Companion. 

carefully prepared, cannot possibl}^ supply its place. No 
animal refuses to nurse its 3'oung ; it is only among the 
human species that we find mothers cruel enough to deprive 
a new-born infant of its natural food. If this is done from 
wilful neglect or indifference, mothers often pay dearl}" for 
such violations of natui'e's laws. If the bab}- is allowed to 
nurse as soon as it seems hungry, and the mother has ob- 
tained rest, there mil be no need of giving any other laxa- 
tive or cathartic, such as molasses, castor-oil, etc., for 
nature has made all the provision in this direction which is 
necessar}'. For the last fifteen or twenty years I have not 
given, in a single instance, any form of laxative medicine to 
new-born infants, aside from that nourishment provided in 
the mother's breast ; and I am satisfied that children do 
much better without than with such articles as are frequently 
given to them to move their bowels. The nearer we follow 
nature the better. If the infant is fed a few times before 
nursing, it often loses the faculty of nursing, and it is, in 
such cases, exceedingly diflScult to induce it to nurse. 



WrRSING NECESSARY TO HEAT.TH. 

Nor does the child alone suffer from its not being allowed 
to nurse. It is exceedingly rare for a woman's constitution 
to suffer from the secretion of milli ; but, on the contrary, 
their health is, very generally, materially improved by the 
performance of the duties of nursing. Parental affection, 
and occasional self-denial, would be abundantly recompensed 
by blooming and vigorous children. Bj' this practice, too, 
the patient is generally preserved from fever, inflamed or 
broken breasts, and other maladies. 

Where the supply of milk is not sufficientl}^ copious, or 
the mother is not sufficiently strong and vigorous to main- 
tain the infant's demand for sustenance, both mother and 



The Care of the Infant. 199 

child ma}^ be materially benefited b}" feeding the infant with 
nicelj'-made panada, gruel, or farina, in the intervals of 
nursing, thereby averting the undue drain on the mother's 
strength, and aiding the infant in its approaching period of 
dentition. 

REGIMEIV ©ITRIiVG IVITRSIIVG. 

It is of the utmost importance that nothing should occm' 
to the nursing mother that may interfere with or arrest the 
secretion of milk, or alter and diminish its nutritive qual- 
ities. 

Nature alwaj's provides for her new-born, and the 
fountain of life which she has opened within the mother's 
bosom would ever give forth a bounteous supply of pure 
and healthy nom-ishment were it not for our follies, sins, 
and fashionable dissipations. 

Mental and moral emotions, improper diet, and irregular 
habits have a decidedlj^ injurious effect upon both the quan- 
tity and the quality of the milk. This is a point which it 
seems almost superfluous to discuss, but, nevertheless, in 
the face of all the proofs which can be brought in support 
of this fact, there are still in existence those persons who 
wholh^ ignore the idea that mental emotions or changes in 
diet in any wa}^ affect the lacteal secretion, and who very 
much doubt that errors in diet ever produce an}' very 
marked changes in the quality of the milk. 

COIVSEaUElVCES OF IMPROPER I>IET. 

Now, who has not seen children suffer from indigestion, 
vomiting, colic, and diarrhoea, in consequence of the mother 
having indulged in a very rich diet ? Some parents cannot 
even partake of fruit or vegetables, or make the slightest 
change in then* food, without its having an immediate effect 



200 Woman's Medical Companion. 

upon the nursling. I would not, for a moment, counsel 
entire abstinence from fruits, vegetables, or any other 
ordinary article of food, but only emphatically enjoin 
the greatest and most vigilant watchfulness and care in 
selecting the articles and regulating the quantit}^ to be 
eaten. 

We are all aware that butter made from the milk of a 
cow fed upon Swede turnips, or garhc, or strong- smelling 
oils, herbs, or plants, will contain the flavor and odor of 
that plant or substance, to a greater or less extent. The 
same principle obtains, most markedly, in the maternal 
secretion. The worst case of cohc, I think, that I ever 
saw in an infant was produced by the nm'se eating unripe 
fruit. I am acquainted with a lady who cannot eat the 
least thing that is at all sour or acid but that her nursing 
infant is sure to have an attack of colic. It therefore fol- 
lows that a nursing mother should be specially careful in 
the choice of her nourishment, in order to impart to the 
milk such properties only as will make it a wholesome and 
nutritive agent. Plain, wholesome food, as a general thing, 
will produce wholesome miUv, while a diet of highly-seasoned 
and fancifully-cooked dishes, served perhaps at iiTcgular 
hours, and accompanied with tea or coffee, is almost certain 
to impart something to the milk which will prove injurious 
to the child. 

If, after a proper regulation of the diet, the milk still 
proves unwholesome, you may rest assured that there is 
some constitutional difficulty resting with the mother, which 
will have to be removed by internal medication. 

DIETETIC REGTIIiATIOIVS. 

The diet should be simple and nourishing ; not too rich 
nor too stunulating ; bread, fruit, and vegetables may be 
freely used ; while meats should be partaken of in modera- 



The Care of the Infant. 201 

tion. The mother's own wishes will generally point out 
what kind of food is most wholesome for herself and child, 
A little experience will soon teach her what does and what 
does not agree with her infant ; and if she be a true mother 
she will be willing to sacrifice some of her choice dishes, 
her coffee and tea, and any other little luxuries which she 
finds to disagree with her child. Regularity in eating is of 
the utmost importance. As I have already observed that a 
stimulating diet is, under no circumstances, advisable, it 
may be well here to make a few remarks upon the popular 
beverages, such as ale, porter, and the like, so extensively 
made use of for the purpose of increasing the flow of milli. 
It has been asserted that ' ' no idea can be more erroneous 
than that women, during the nursing period, stand in need 
of stimulants to support their strength and increase the 
flow of milk." A^Tien j^ou come to look into the subject a 
Kttle, you will find that this is true. 

©ETERIORATIOIV OF MIIiK. 

A great ado was made, not many years ago, by the citi- 
zens of New York, because the dair^^men from the country 
and suburbs of the city insisted upon supplying them with 
swill-milk, or milk secreted by a cow constantly fed upon 
swill. Now, if people are so opposed to using swill-milk 
themselves, why will they insist upon manufacturing it for 
their children, by introducing the alcoholic element into the 
lacteal secretion ? No one doubts the fact that swill-milk 
is unwholesome. In the first place, the milk contains more 
or less of the properties of the substance from which it is 
manufactured. Now, if you manufactin-e milk by passing 
swill through a cow, — the udder acting simply as a filter, — 
you of course get more or less of the properties of the swill, 
whatever they may be. In the second place, a cow fed 
upon swill soon becomes diseased, and of course gives dis- 



202 Woman's Medical Companion. 

eased millc. You will now readily observe that the milk 
which you get, in addition to containing more or less of its 
original properties, as affected by swiU, is still further con= 
laminated by being drawn from a sick cow. 

AriCOHOX^IC lilQUORS IIVJnJRiOUS. 

Now it is just the same with a nursing woman fed upon 
ale and porter ; not to so great an extent, it is true, because 
her diet is not exclusivel}^ confined to one unwholesome 
article,- but the milk which she produces is unhealth}^, and 
therefore not a proper nourishment for the infant. Drugs 
enter largely into the composition of all malt liquors, wines, 
and brandies, and to a far gTeater extent, too, than is gen- 
erally supposed. Milk, impregnated with either of these 
drugged articles, can scarcely fail to engender obstinate and 
formidable chi^onic diseases both in mother and child. The 
regular administration of alcohol, with the professed object 
of supporting the system under the demand occasioned by 
the flow of milk, is " a mocker}^, a delusion, and a snare," 
for alcohol affords no single element of the secretion, and 
is much more likely to impair than to improve the quality 
of the milk. If a woman cannot afford the necessary sup- 
ply without these indulgences, she should give over the 
infant to some one who can, and drop nursing altogether. 
The only cases in which a moderate portion of malt liquor 
is justifiable are when the milk is deficient, and the nurse is 
averse or unable to put another in her place. Here of two 
evils we choose the least, and rather give the infant milk of 
an inferior quality than endanger its health by weaning it 
prematurel}^, or stinting it of its accustomed nourishment. 
But, as a general rule, a judicious S3'stem of feeding, grad- 
uall}^ introduced from a very early period in the life of a 
child, is infinitely preferable to an miperfect supply of poor 
milk from the mother ; and, if the mother is so foolish as 



The Care of the Infant, 203 

to persist in nursing lier infant after natnre lias repeatedly 
warned her of her incapacit}' to do so, it is the dnt}^ of the 
medical man to set before her, as strong!}^ as possible, the 
risk — the absolute certaint}- — of future prejudice to her- 
self. The evils which proceed from lactation, protracted 
be3'ond the abilit}' of the s^'stem to sustain it, may be to a 
certain degree kept in check b}^ the use of alcoholic stimu- 
lants ; but we are convinced, from experience and observa- 
tion, that the arrestation of these evils are only temporary, 
and that they will, sooner or later, manifest themselves a 
hundred-fold intensified. Under no circumstances is the 
habitual or even occasional use of alcoholic liquors during 
lactation either necessary or beneficial. By the use of 
alcoholic stimulants the constitution of both mother and 
infant is stimulated far beyond the limit set b}^ nature. The 
laws which govern the animal economy are j)ositively in- 
fringed, and it is impossible that mother or infant should 
escape the penalt}^ of that infringement. Both will suffer 
to a certainty in some shape or other, if not immediate^, 
at some future period. Thousands of infants are annually 
cut off bj^ convulsions, etc., from the effects of these bev- 
erages acting on them through the mother. We wish it to 
be clearl}' understood, then, that when the mother does not 
furnish a sufficient supply of milk for the wants of the child, 
a wet-nurse should be obtained, or the child should be 
weaned immediatel3^ 

MENTAIi EMOTIONS AFFECTING THE MILK. 

It is just as important that a nursing mother should pay 
strict attention to the state of her mind as to her diet and 
general health. No other secretion so evidently exhibits the 
influence of the depressing emotions as that of the breast. 

The infant's stomach is a ver}^ dehcate apparatus for test- 
ing the quality of the milk, far exceeding anything which 



204 Womaii^s Medical Companion. 

the chemist can devise. How a mental emotion can affect 
the qnahty of the milk, perhaps it would be difficult to 
demonstrate, and what that change in the character of the milk 
consists in, no examination of its physical properties by the 
chemist can detect ; but, nevertheless, we are well aware 
that, after severe fits of anger, some change takes place in 
the milk, which alters it from a healthy, nutritive agent to 
an irritating substance, producing griping in the infant, and 
a diarrhoea of green stools. Inasmuch, therefore, as the 
quality of the milk is vcr}^ liable to be injuriously affected 
by any sudden or unpleasant excitement of the feelings, or 
other causes jproducing a constant and continued state of 
unhappiness, it is desirable that the most assiduous care 
should be taken to keep the mind in as quiet and happy a 
state as possible. It may not be practicable for nursing 
mothers to avoid all occasions of getting angry or sad, but 
it certainly is possible to avoid all violent and artificial 
excitement. 

Grief, of course, is an emotion which we cannot entirely 
control, and it is not an uncommon occurrence for the loss 
of a relative or friend to have such a depressing effect upon 
a nursing mother as to cause an almost total suppression of 
mill^. 

EFFECT OF EMOTION UPOW THE IIVFAIVT. 

It is not unfrequent, either, for a child to suffer from 
griping pains and green, frothy stools while sick with some 
other disease, and yet there be no connection between the 
two complaints. We, as physicians, can readily understand 
it, but the mother little apprehends that it is all owing to her 
own anxiet}". 

Terror which is sudden, and great fear, instantly stop the 
secretion of milk. 

Sir Astley Cooper remarks : " The secretion of milk pro- 



The Care of the Infant. 205 

ceeds best in a tranquil state of niind, and with a cheerful 
temper ; then the milk is regularly abundant, and agrees 
well with the child. On the contrar}', a fretful temper lessens 
the quantit3'of milli, makes it thin and serous, and causes it 
to distm'b the child's bowels, producing intestinal fever and 
much griping.'* It is absoiutel}' necessar}', therefore, that, 
if you would have healthy, quiet, and good-natured children, 
3'ou should alwa3's 3'ourself be calm, cheerful, and happy. 

It is not well for a woman to nurse her child soon after 
having recovered from fright, passion, etc. She should wait 
until she is perfectl}^ composed, and perhaps it would be as 
well to draw off a portion of the milk before the child is 
again applied to the breast. 

WEAjVING. 

There is a gi-eat variet}^ of opinion among the members 
of the medical fraternit}', and a still greater difference in the 
sentiments and actions of mothers and nurses, as to the 
period when the infant should be "weaned." There is no 
doubt that many thousands of infants, from the unskilful- 
ness, ignorance, and recklessness of their mothers and 
nurses resfardinoj the withdrawal of natm-e's nutriment and 
the substitution of unsuitable and badly prepared food, la}' 
the foundation of many serious chronic, inflammator}', and 
fatal infantile diseases. I do not hesitate to assert most 
emphatically that nature herself has plainly and unmistak- 
ably demonstrated the proper time for the commencement of 
this process b}' the appearance of the temporary teeth. 

THE FIKST DEiVTITIOX. 

The operation of dentition generall}' commences between 
the fifth and the seventh month of infantile existence, and 
the first ten teeth have usually cut themselves through by 
the close of the ninth month, an unmistakable intimation of 



206 Woman's Medical Conipajiion. 

Dame Nature that the digestive apparatus is so far prepared 
for functional action that it can assimilate and utilize food 
of a different character to that which it has hitherto obtained 
from the maternal organism. As the office of the teeth is 
to masticate and divide the solid portions of om* food, one 
ma}' very natm'ally suppose that their appearance and 
gi'owth is a fair index of the development of the infant's 
digestive organs, and of the capabilities and powers of the 
stomach, as well as the demands of the general system, in 
regard to nutriment. If we take the protrusion and gi'owth 
of the teeth as a guide 'hj which we are to regulate the diet 
of the infant, we shall undoubtedly come to the common- 
sense conclusion that some childi'en ma}' be weaned far 
earlier than others ; so that it is impossible to name a defi- 
nite age at which all children may be entirely deprived of 
the breast. 

As a rule, if the mother be ordinarih' robust and healthy, 
the child should be fed exclusively from the breast until the 
first two teeth have made their appearance (say the sixth or 
seventh month) , when farinaceous food, the juice of light, 
delicate meats, gTuel, etc., may be alternated with the 
periods of nursing, so as to accustom the organs to their 
new aliment. As the other teeth appear successively, the 
quality of the maternal secretion administered may be less- 
ened, and the variety and quantity of the artificial food be 
gradually increased, until the nursing is altogether discon- 
tinued. There are, as we have said, many exceptions to 
this rule, which Mill be considered as they occm*. One 
thing must be specially borne in mind, that the child should 
never be allowed to swallow solid animal food until the first 
dentition (that is, all excepting the upper molars and canine 
teeth) is completed. 

"We Avill now proceed to notice some of the reasons why 
it is not always possible to follow the rule we have laid 



TJie Care of the hi f ant. 207 

down. Owing to fever, or some acute or chronic disease, 
the milk ma}^ spontaneous!}' " dry up," in spite of the 
utmost care ; or it ma}' be, that, during the wliole life of the 
mother, there has been a latent tendency toward consump- 
tion, scrofula, or even cancer, which the excitement during 
pregnancy, or the nervous shock of confinement, may have 
brought into activity, and either of which diseases would so 
contaminate her milk as to render it highly injurious to the 
child's health if she continue to nourish it at the breast. 

Again, some mothers are unable to support this constant 
drain upon their system more than six months without 
becoming pale, weak, and emaciated, their milk thin and 
watery, and so deficient in nutriment as to be totally inade- 
quate to the support of the child. In such a case the 
child should be Immediately weaned, or recourse had to a 
healthy wet-nurse. 

The return of the menses during the period of nursing 
sometimes, though not always, has a decidedly prejudicial 
effect upon the mother's milk ; but, as a general rule, 
it does not render the weaning of the child necessary, 
especially while the milk continues to agree with it. The 
same is true if pregnancy should occur while the child is 
too young to wean, particularly if the mother is strong and 
healthy ; but it is not advisable to continue that nursing 
longer than three, or, at the most, four months after the 
commencement of pregnancy. 

On the other hand, there are many circumstances w^hich 
may render it advisable to protract the term of nursing 
beyond the ordinary period. The child may be delicate 
and weak, with feeble digestive i^owers ; it may be suffering 
from some disease incident to teething, or incipient infantile 
complaint. You would, therefore, naturally wait until the 
sickness had passed off before you changed its food. 
Again, it would be hardly prudent to wean a child during 



208 Woman^s Medical Companion. 

the hot months of summer. The months of March, April, 
May, September, October, and November ma}", all other 
things being equal, be regarded as the most favorable for 
weaning children. Some persons are A^erj^ particular that 
weaning should take place during a certain phase of the moon ; 
but this is all moonshine. It would be hardly advisable to 
wean a child during the prevalence of an epidemic among 
children ; because the morbific influence prevailing produces 
a strong disposition to disease. Caution upon the points 
which we have here briefly glanced at ma}^ be the means 
of preventing a severe fit of sickness, or even of saving the 
life of 3"0ur infant. 

STTPPIiEMEKTARY DIET OE EVFAI^TS. 

It is universally acknowledged as a fact that the mortality 
among children " brouglit up b}" hand," as it is called, is 
immeasurably greater than among those who are not de- 
prived of the maternal source of nourishment. Dr. Merri- 
man, an eminent London phj^sician, in remarking upon the 
infantile mortality of that populous cit}", sa^^s : "I am con- 
vinced that the attempt to bring children up b}^ hand proves 
fatal in London to at least seven out of eight of these 
miserable suflferers ; and this happens whether the child has 
never taken the breast, or, having been suckled for three or 
fom* weeks onl}', is then weaned. In the country", the 
mortality among drj'-nursed children is not quite so gTeat 
as in cities ; but it is abundantly greater than is generally 
imagined." 

COT^^'S MIIiK. 

It is of course primarity necessary that the special food 
which the child partakes of in addition to or as a substitute 
for the mother's milk, should approach the quality of that 
milk as nearly as possible ; and from chemical anal3^sis we 



The Care of the Infant. 209 

find that \^\ adding a portion of loaf-sugar and water to 
imre and good cow's milk^ we obtain a substitute closely 
resembling breast-milk. The great requisite, of course, is 
purity ; and there can be no doubt but that perfectl}' pure, 
fresh milk from one cow, sweetened with loaf-sugar, and 
diluted at first with w^ater, and gradually reducing the 
dilution and giving it pure, is the best diet for young 
infants ; but the diabolical concoction which is peddled 
through the streets of all our large cities in wagons, and 
which is obtained b}^ filtering distillery swill through sick 
cows, is utterly unfit either for man or beast, and still more 
for tender infants and feeble children. "VMiat, then, remains 
to be done? The poor little innocent cannot be fed on 
such vile stuff, nor can it subsist forever on gruel and the 
numerous farinaceous mixtures and abominations with which 
nurseries generally are constantly deluged. The only course 
that can be taken is to partially avert these disadvantages 
by taking special care that the child is not overfed. No one 
will doubt that loading the child's stomach with farinaceous 
or any other description of food will produce gastric de- 
rangement. I am thoroughlj^ convinced, from close observa- 
tion, that it is not so much the article given, as it is the state 
or quantity in which it is given, that produces the trouble. 
For instance, 3'ou will find that the gi'uel prepared for chil- 
dren is made from meal ground ver}' coarse and containing a 
great deal of feculent matter, as is also the case with pan- 
ada, crackers, or bread and water, etc. Now, at best, this 
substance is unfit for the deUcate stomach of a tender infant ; 
but how much more so is it when you come to feed it after it 
has been prepared two, three, or more hours ; and, though 
not actuall}' soiu- to 3'our sense of perception, it has under- 
gone some change which renders it unwholesome to the 
infant, occasioning the colic and the gastric derangement 
which writers attribute to the kind instead of the quality of 



210 Woman's Medical Companion. 

tlie food. Experience also teaches us that we as frequently 
injure children by overfeeding them as we do by feeding them 
with unwholesome food. We ourselves are not unfrequently 
reminded by fits of indigestion that we have indulged our 
appetites to too great an extent. Some mothers look upon 
every cry of their offspring as an indication of hunger, and 
every time the child worries or frets a little it must be fed. 
By this means the stomach is kept constant^ distended 
with food, and the inevitable result of such a course — 
indigestion — will speedily follow. 

As a general rule, a healthy child from one to three weeks 
old requires a pint of hreast-milk^ or other food equally 
nutritious, during the twenty-four hours. At the end of the 
first month, and in the course of the second, the quantity 
usually taken by the child increases gradually to about a 
pint and a half or a quart. 

FARIIVACEOUS FOOI>. 

After a thorough investigation of the subject, I am con- 
vinced that, in cases where the maternal supply is deficient, 
unwholesome, or entirel}^ absent, the best supplementary 
diet is that made from finely-gTound rice or barley-flour. 
This flour is frequentl}^ sold in fancy packages weighing a 
pound, and in that form, is often impregnated with 
pepper, cloves, cinnamon, or some other spice, from contact 
with those articles upon the grocer's shelves ; it is much the 
best, therefore, to purchase it loose, like ordinary meal. 

The following is the method b}^ which these articles should 
be prepared for children's diet : For an infant, take one 
tablespoonful of the flour — more, of course, for an older 
child — and moisten it with cold water, being careful to have 
it well stirred, so that it shall contain no lumps ; then add a 
little salt and a sufficient quantit}^ of hot ivater, and boil it 
for ten minutes, during which time it should be constantly 



The Care of the Infant. 211 

stirred to keep it from burning. After it has been removed 
from the fire, 3'oii should add a sufficient quantity of loaf- 
sugar to make it about as sweet as breast-milk. The 
quantity of water which 3'ou should put to a spoonful of 
flom- will, of course, depend altogether upon the consist- 
enc}" 3'ou wish to give it. If it is to be fed through a 
nursing-bottle, it will have to be quite thin (but, from m}^ 
own personal experience, I have reason to condemn the 
use of feeding-bottles, as for several reasons they are de- 
cidedly injurious to the infant, and are the primary cause 
of many infantile ailments) ; if from a spoon, which is by 
far the most advisable method, it can be made quite 
thick, — almost as thick as an ordinary farina pudding. 

For those children whose bowels are habitually inclined 
towards constipation, 3'ou will find the barle3"-flour better 
adapted, as it Jaas a slight loosening tendenc3^ On the 
contrar3':, for those whose bowels are inclined to be lax, or 
tend in that direction, 3^ou will find the rice flour preferable. 
You will observe that I advise that the flour should be 
cooked with water, not with milk. I do this, not speciall3^ 
on account of the difficulty of procuring pure milk in the 
cit3^, but because I have observed that when a child is 
taking breast-milk, it should not be fed with cow's milk, as 
it will not assimilate with the breast-milk, and consequentl3^ 
produces disturbance in the digestive organs. 

When the mother does not supply any nourishment for 
the child from her breast, I would recommend you to add a 
portion of pure milk to the flour and water. These two 
articles of diet, with the exception of a small quantity of the 
grav3^ of underdone meat occasionall3^, in addition to the 
milk furnished b3^ the mother, are all the child will need or 
ought to have ; and a strict adherence to this simple diet, 
with as few variations as possible, except in case of sick- 
ness, until after the temporary teeth have made their 



212 Woman's Medical Companion, 

appearance, 3'oii will find more concluciye to the general 
health, comfort, and happiness of the child than an}" other 
3"ou can adopt. 

NECESSITY FOR REGIJIiARITT OF I>IET. 

If it is perfectly true that whatever is taken into the 
S3"stem and digested is assimilated by the ^ital forces, and 
goes to make up the tissues of which the body is composed, 
is it not important that we, who have the selection of the 
food, should be extremel}' particular regarding the material I 
from which the thread of life is spun ? Experience has : 
taught observing mothers, as well as x^hj^sicians and nurses, | 
after having made a proper selection of food for the infant, | 
the importance of adhering to one plain, simple course of | 
diet, and not to be constantly" fl^'ing from one thing to an- | 
other, giving it cracker and water one day, farina another, j 
and gruel another. i 

I have chosen rice-flour and barley because I have found | 
them to agree with the infant's digestive apparatus better I 
than an3'thing else ; and I recommend them as a constant | 
diet, with the exceptions alread}'" mentioned, until after the ! 
period of first dentition. I 

After the fifth or sixth month, the food ma3" be of a more ! 
substantial nature. When the child is taking its food it: 
should be supported in an eas3", semi-recumbent position' 
upon the arm or lap of the person feeding it, and should 
be kept quiet for at least thirt3^ or fort3" minutes after! 
having received its nourishment. Rest is peculiarl3" favor-, 
able to digestion, because the digestive organs require ' 
a concentration of the vital energies upon themselves inj 
order to enable them to perform this important function ^ 
with due rapidit3' and ease. Both experience and experi-j 
ments upon the lower animals have shown that the process ■ 
of digestion is particularly liable to be impeded by strong ! 



The Care of the Infant. 213 

mental or corporeal exercise or agitation after a full meal. 
The practice, therefore, of dancIHng or jolting infants soon 
after they have taken nourishment is decicledl}^ improper. 
You Tvill notice that all the lower animals, as well as ^-our 
babe, manifest a disposition to this quietness and repose 
after eating. 

We have several times spoken of the impurity of the 
cow-milk prociured in large cities. For the information 
and benefit of mothers and nm'ses, we will append a few 
remarks on the precautions necessary to be taken in its 
selection and use. 

METHOD OF TESTIIVG MIIL,K, 

In the first place, it is of the highest importance that the 
milk should be taken from a single cow, and not be a mixture 
of that of several. Then it is essential that, in the case of 
a verj^j'oung infant, the cow shall have been in full milli for 
at least three or four weeks, and not more than four months. 
Cow's milk should be slightly alkaline ; but it sometimes 
occurs that it is slightly acid, in which case it is ver}^ apt 
to disagree with children. Hence, in selecting a cow from 
which to obtain milk for an infant, it is alwaj'S well to 
test the milk by means of blue litmus-paiDer. Hold the 
end of a strip of this paper in fresh milk for a short time, 
and if it changes to a red color, the milk is acid, and not 
suitable for a 3'oung child ; another cow should therefore be 
selected. Good milk will change red litmus-paper to blue 
after some minutes' contact. Litmus-paper can be obtained 
at the druo-ojists'. If milk which is being used disaorree 
with a child, or cause disturbance of the stomach and bow- 
els, it should be rejected, and the milk from another cow 
tried ; but test the milk as above directed before using it. 
For an infant, it is important to use the milk which is first 
di'awn, as it is much weaker than the last which is obtained, 



214 Womaji's Medical Companion. 

and will not require diluting with water, which may impair 
its quality. The first drawn milk need not be diluted, but 
should be sweetened with a little white sugar. Milk which 
has been boiled is not so easily digested as unboiled milk, 
and it is generally better only to heat it to the right temper- 
ature for drinking ; and it is best that this should be done 
by setting the dish containing the milk into a A^essel of boil- 
ing water. 

TVET-IVURSES. 

That the nurse's milk is the best substitute for the mother's 
milk, we presume will not be questioned. Should any, 
however, be sceptical enough to doubt it, we have only to 
refer them to those children who have ' ' been brought up by 
hand," in comparison with those who have had a nurse. 
The healthy appearance of the one beside the emaciated 
condition of the other offers proofs stronger than any argu- 
ment that we can adduce. 

Inasmuch as the child will undoubtedly be influenced, to 
a greater or less extent, both by the moral and ph3'sical 
condition of the nurse, it is highly important that we should 
use great discrimination and care in selecting the person to 
whom we give the entire charge of the infant. It is true 
we are seldom left much margin for a choice ; often, we con- 
sider ourselves fortunate indeed if we are able to find a 
female with a breast of milk who is willing to give her whole 
time to the care and nursing of another's infant. But, in 
3'our eagerness to secure the object of your search, j^ou 
should not accept the first that offers, irrespective of her 
general health or moral character ; or else, in after 3'ears, 
when perchance your child develops a cross and sour dispo- 
sition, oris afflicted with some ugly eruption, you may have 
the unpleasant recollection that, in all probability, it took 
it from its nurse, and then forever blame 3'ourself for what 
you can never, though 3'ou would gladl3", remove. 



The Care of the Infant. 215 

"We have alread}^ seen that errors in diet, mental and 
moral emotions, etc., have a decidedly deleterious effect 
upon tlie milk, changing it from a source of nourishment 
to a substance which seems to act like poison on the infant. 
If, then, the delicate organism of the infant is so sensibl}^ 
affected b}' these changes in the milk, — changes which the 
most delicate chemical tests are miable to detect, — perhaps 
we can catch an inkling of the manner in which the whole 
constitution of the infant might become radically changed ; 
the whole moral and physical disposition, as inherited from 
the mother, become supplanted, or at least obscured and 
superseded by the peculiarities of the moral and physical 
organization of the nurse in whose hands the infant has 
been placed. 

HVFIiUE^rCE OF THE NURSE OIV THE INFAIVT. 

Humanit}', in the first flush of its tender existence, both 
in its moral and physical aspect, is not milike the potter's 
clay ; and, lOve the potters, they who have the handling of 
it can fashion it into almost any form they please. A child 
of a kind and loving disposition, confiding, and easily led, 
is very apt to be led astray by an unprincipled or careless 
nurse ; while a child who is perverse and shows a preternat- 
ural disposition to wrong, would, in such hands, be ruined 
bej^ond all hope of redemption. At no period of life is a 
child so susceptible of being influenced b}" the unamiable 
qualities of a companion as during the early months of 
infancy. 

The impressions made upon an infant at this early period 
are not simpl}^ transient, as most persons are apt to think, 
but they sink deeply into the mind, and do seriously affect, 
either for good or evil, the whole future character of the 
subject of them. And, therefore, I would earnestly impress 
upon the minds of all parents the importance of early atten- 



216 WoiJian's Medical Co7ftpanioii. 

tion to the moral education of children. If there is any- 
thing in this Tvorld that a child does inherit from its parent 
or nurse, it is fretfulness, ill-humor, -vicious propensities, 
and tendencies to physical derangement. ]S"o"vr, if the 
nurse, in whose society the child is constantly kept, pos- 
sesses a genial disposition, the prominent points of which 
are cheerfulness, contentment, gratitude, hope, joy, and love, 
don't you suppose that, as the child becomes developed, as 
each mental petal of that mind unfolds to the influence of 
sun'ounding objects, the impressions it receives are quite 
different from what the}' would have been had the nm-se | 
possessed all of those little satanic embellishments which ) 
we call moroseness, ill-humor, selfishness, env}', jealous}^, || 
hatred, revenge, and the like ? I am pretty certain you will 
see in whose hands it is best to place the infant, especially ^ 
when you come to remember, or, if you do not abeady know, \ 
to learn, that '' the feelings constitute an ever-acting source i 
of bodily liealth or disease^ and also a principal som'ce of 
enjoyment, as well as of suffering ; and that upon their 
proper regulation most of the happiness and true value of 
human life .depend." 

As 3'et I have said scarcely anything in regard to the ; 
'physical diseases a child ma}' inherit from its nm'se. These \ 
are legion^ — acute, chronic, hereditary, and blood-diseases 
of all kinds. This part of the subject is so palpable to the 
perceptions of all. that elucidation is unnecessary. 

QrAt,IFICATI03rS OF A XURSE. 

I would advise you never to engage a wet-nm'se, however 
favorably you may be impressed with her appearance, until 
your family physician, in wliom you put imphcit confidence, 
has first seen her. In fact, the question should rest upon 
his decision, especially as to her physical condition. If 
there is any disease about her, he wiU be able to detect 



The Care of the Infant. 217 

it. The best nurses are those who possess all the evidences 
of good health : the tongue clean, teeth and gums sound, 
indicating healthy digestion, breath free from unpleasant 
odor, the surface of the bod}' free from eruptions, and the 
insensible perspiration inoffensive, the breast smooth, firm 
and prominent, the nipples well-developed, rosy-colored, 
and easil}" swelling when excited. The milk should flow 
easily, be thin, bland, of a bluish tint, and of a sweet taste, 
and, when allowed to remain in a cup or other vessel, be 
covered with a considerable amount of cream. She should 
be thoroughly healthy, free from an}'' discoverable tendency 
to chronic diarrhcea, about the same age or even j^ounger 
than the mother, and delivered at least within a few months 
of the same time ; let her complexion be clear, skin smooth 
and healthy, ej'es and ej'elids free from any redness or swell- 
ing. She should be of an amiable disposition, not irritable, 
nor prone to anger or passion ; of regular habits, not indulg- 
ing in any of the forms of dissipation ; naturall}' kind and 
fond of children. 

The nurse should make it her dut}' to guard the child 
as much as possible against diseases. This she will be best 
able to do by pacing strict attention to her diet and her 
general mode of li^^ng. A nurse who loves children will 
cheerfully denj^ herself the pleasure of eating or drinking 
any articles whatever which injuriousl}' affect her milk. 
She should, by all means, avoid all heating or spirituous 
beverages, spices, flatulent food, or food that is very salt. 
In a word, her diet should be simple and easily digested, 
consisting of a proper proportion of animal and vegetable 
food. As little change as possible should be made from 
her former mode of living, lest the change should affect her 
health, and thus disturb the child, causing flatulence, colic, 
diarrhoea, constipation, or some other of children's many 
ailments. 



218 Woman's Medical Companion. 



CHAPTEE X. 

INFANTILE AFFECTIONS AND DISEASES OF 
CHILDHOOD. 

CRTIIVG, IfVAKEFUIiJVESS, AlVD RESTIiESSlVESS OF 

IWEAIVTS. f 

It ma}^ be taken for granted that infants do not cr}' — that 
is, have frequent and long-continued fits of wying — without 
there being some occasion for it. What that occasion is 
can usuall}^ be ascertained upon careful examination. A 
fit of cr^'ing is not unfrequentl}^ caused by some mechanical j' 
irritation; the child's dress may be wrinkled, or so adjusted 
as to be uncomfortable, or a pin may be misplaced or prick- 
ing into the flesh. Perhaps the most frequent cause of 
crying in infants is derangement of the stomach and in- 
testines, such as cramps, colic, griping pains, and so forth. 
These are indicated by writhing of the body, drawing up of 
the legs, and diarrhoea. 

Occasional cr3'ing of infants should cause no uneasiness \ 
in the mind of the mother, because this is the only method \ 
b}^ which the child can manifest its wants. It maj^ cry or 
worr}^ from hunger, or from lying too long in one position ; '' 
but when attention to these and other particulars, which will 
suggest themselves to ever}^ thoughtful parent, has been !' 
given, and the infant still refuses to be pacified, clmmomilla^ v 
belladonna^ rhubarb^ or some other remedy mentioned in I 
the Appendix, according to the abdominal and other sj^mp- \ 
toms, will be found beneficial. I' 






Ltfantile Affections. 219 

Restlessness and wakefulness, like crying, are not dis- 
eases, but simply symptoms of some derangement of the 
sj'stem. It is not alwaj's possible to sa}" with exactitude 
what causes the child to worry and prevents it from sleep- 
ing. y^Q can often trace it to flatulence, and not unfre- 
quentl}' to an overloaded stomach, but we are quite as 
often in the dark as to its cause. 

Treatment. — Nos. 260, 261. 

As the difficulty is sometimes occasioned by the condi- 
tion of the mother's milk, it being in some way unwhole- 
some, it will be occasionally necessary to prescribe for the 
mother, as well as to make some restrictions or regulations 
regarding her diet. 

DISEASES OF THE AIR-PASSAGES A1VI> LUIYGS. 

When taking into consideration the alarming prevalence 
of disease of the air-passages and lungs, especially among 
young persons and children, half-grown maidens and tiny 
infants, together with the large percentage of deaths caused 
thereby, one would naturally suppose that if those who had 
given this subject its due attention could devise any method 
whereby these numerous affections could be warded off or 
prevented, their advice would be eagerly sought for and 
implicitly followed. But no, it is not till grim disease, in 
the shape of some appalling epidemic, wrapped in a malari- 
ous robe, mounts his chariot and comes sweeping over fair 
sections of our countr}^, spreading dismay and desolation 
on ever}^ side, snatching from circles here and there a bud, 
a blossom, or possibly a full-blown rose, that the oft-re- 
peated advice of the family ph3^sician, though listened to 
with marked attention, is actually heeded. 

Ever}' time a ph^'sician is called upon to prescribe for a 
patient he is reminded of the necessity of administering a 
short lecture upon the general laws of health, including 



220 Woman's Medical Companion. 

dress, diet, and the like. It is a noticeable fact that sick 
persons are very penitent, sorry foi* past transgressions, 
willing observants now of the Decalogue, anxious bej^ond 
measure to obey implicitly every wish of the physician. 
But no sooner does the first glimmer of health irradiate 
their sickly forms than their self-reliance and independence 
return : — 

God and the doctor they alike adore, 
But only when in danger; not before : 
The danger o'er, both are alike requited; 
God is forgotten and the doctor slighted. 

CHIIiWKEIV'S DRESSES. 

The subject of dress, in connection with this class of dis- 
eases, is a very important one. Nearly if not quite all the 
diseases of the air-passages are caused by the sudden chill- 
ing of the body. Our climate, with its sudden vicissitudes 
of heat and cold, together with the exquisite method of our 
American mothers of dressing, or rather I would sa}^, of 
undressing their children : the low neck, to show the beautiful 
contour of shoulders and of bust ; the half pants, exposing 
the knees of small boys — yet what beauty there is in a hoy's 
knee I never could ascertain, but I presume they must be 
charming, or certainly they would not be left bare ; all these 
add their quota to the full development of throat and lung 
affections. 

The universal, deplorable ignorance or inattention, or 
both, in regard to the subject of dress, is astonishing, and 
cannot be too frequently brought before the minds of those 
who have the special care of J^oung children. 

Prevention is in all cases better than cure ; and certain it 
is that by careful and wise attention to the physical education 
of young children you can ward off such diseases as croup, 
bronchitis, laryngitis, pneumonia, and the like, even in 
those who have shown a predisposition or a liabihty to 



Infantile Affections. 221 

them. Undoubtedly one of the most important means to 
be made use of is the adoption of a proper dress ; and this, 
in cold weather, should be one that will cover the whole 
bodj^ 

liOTV-lVECKEI* DRESSES. 

You can see, at an}^ time, ladies wearing warm and com- 
fortable dresses, with high necks and long sleeves, sitting in 
the same room with their children, who are almost naked. 
The dear little creatures, their arms and necks must not be 
covered up, they look "so cunning" and "so sweet." 
Their dresses are made so low and loose about the neck 
that the whole chest, even down to the waist, is virtually 
exposed. Yet, mark you, as soon as the children grow 
older, and therefore become stronger, and better able to 
bear exposure, they are dressed warmer. What inconsist- 
enc}' ! Is it any wonder that children are more liable to 
diseases of the air-passages and lungs than adults? O 
Fashion ! th}^ potent sway fills many an infant grave ! 

I do not wish to dictate to any i^arent how she should 
dress her children ; at least au}^ further than is necessary to 
preserve their health, by protecting them against the evil 
effects of sudden transitions of temperature. Children 
should never be dressed with low neck and short sleeves, 
except in the heat of summer, and in the New England 
climate not at all. I am well aware that it is the custom 
so to dress them even in midwinter ; but you 3^ourself 
would be uncomfortable, to say the least, clothed in this 
manner ; and how much more so must they be, with their 
extreme sensibility of skin. 

WHAT IVURSERIES SHOLTI,l> BE. 

But, 3'ou ma}^ argue, the child, especially the infant, is 
never exposed ; the nursery is alwa3^s warm, and it seldom 
goes out of it: why be so particular to cover the neck 



222 Woma7i's Medical Companion. 

and arms? That is true ; the rooms are always warm, and, 
in the yast majorit}^ of cases, too w^arm ; but the doors are 
continually being opened and shut, subjecting the child to a 
constant fanning. 

Kow, the nurser}^, or room where the children are kept, 
should be large, air}-, and well ventilated. Plenty of cool, 
fresh, and pure air should be constantly admitted, for the 
purpose of respkation. The temperature, while the chil- 
dren are well, should never exceed sevent3^-two degrees ; 
and, genera% speaking, from sixt^^-seven to seventy 
degrees will be sufficient to be comfortable, provided the 
children are properly clad. 

I am aware that j^ou will frequentl}' be told, and that, 
too, by those who ought to know better, that earl}^ expo- 
sures harden the children, and make them robust. Would 
you expect to harden a tender plant b}^ exposing it to 
chilling winds, or to the cold ^nd biting frosts of a winter's 
night? Would 3'ou expect j^our flowers to grow, j'our roses 
to bud and blossom, without the genial warmth of a summer's 
sun? No, indeed ! Neither can 3'ou harden your children 
by allowing their little shoulders, arms, legs, or feet to be 
cold ; and j^ou will often see them so cold that the}^ are 
fairly blue. 

It is cruel ; and you may rest assured, that if these chil- 
dren do not suffer in infanc}^ they will, as they grow up, be 
more liable to diseases of the air-passages and of the lungs 
than those who have been properly cared for. 

Croup is a rare disease among the Germans ; thej' are 
very particular in regard to children's dresses, taking great 
care to have the throat and chest well protected. 

WHAT CHIIiDRElV SHOUIiD WEAR. 

Delicate children should invariably wear a flannel under^ 
shirt, or a shirt made of some woollen material, next the 



Infant lie Affections. 223 

skin, made high up about the neck, and with sleeves to 
come below the elbows. Then put on the accustomed 
underclothes, and even those had better be made of 
woollen, not only on account of its warmth, but because it 
is lighter than other goods ; and over all a stout muslin or 
a light woollen dress. 

The stockings should also be of wool, and come high 
lip, always above the knees. The old way of tying a gar- 
ter around the leg, to keep the stocking up, is open to many 
objections. In the first place, it spoils the beauty of the 
leg, by preventing a full development of the calf, by cutting 
off, or at least retarding the circulation. This alone would 
be sufficient reason to condemn it ; but, what is of more con- 
sequence, it also produces cold feet, and causes congestion 
of the veins, making them knotty and uneven. An elastic 
strap, going from a button upon the outside of the top of the 
stocking to a button upon the waistband of the drawers, will 
answer every purpose and be quite as convenient. 

As I have before stated, all children should be accus- 
tomed to cold (or very slightly tepid) bathing. For puny, 
weak, and delicate children, subject to croup, catarrh, and 
cough, in fact, taking cold upon the slighest exposure, I 
have found bathing, alwa3'S in conjunction with warm cloth- 
ing, of valuable assistance in strengthening the child, giving 
a good healthy tone to the S3^stem, and thus protecting it 
from many diseases to which it would otherwise have fallen 
a prey. Our city houses are generally warmed — no, heated^ 
that is the word — with furnaces, another prolific source of 
disease. The children are virtually parboiled, or rather 
baked, while indoors, and, consequently, when they are 
taken out, the first draught of air that strikes the tender 
little hot-house plant produces a shock, drives the blood from 
the surface to the dehcate membrane linino; the throat or 



224 Woman's Medical Companion, 

— _ , — _ — ____ 

lungs, and thus produces some one of the innumerable dis- 
eases of the air-]3assages so prevalent in our midst. 

CORTZA, SWUFFr.ES, COI.D IIV THE HEAO. 

This disorder, which consists of an inflammation and 
consequent thickening-up of the mucous membrane lining 
the nasal passages, occurs as a distinct disease ; but it is 
also frequently connected with inflammation of the lungs, 
with measles, but more frequent^ with scarlet fever. 

It attacks all, indiscriminate!}', both old and j'oung. In 
the older children it is but of httle account, never injuring 
the general health by its own action ; but in the infant it is 
quite a different thing, and becomes a serious, even a dan- 
gerous disease. In these little sufferers, who are unable or 
unwilling to breathe otherwise than through the nose, it is 
quite an impediment to respkation, especially after the first 
few da^'s, when the head and nose become completely 
filled with a thick, tenacious secretion, which it is impossi- 
ble to remove. Being prevented from breathing through the 
nose, the child, when nursing, is obliged to frequently relin- 
quish the nipple in order to obtain breath, which makes it 
cross and fretful. When coryza exists in connection with 
other diseases, it of course adds to their severity. 

Causes. — As a general thing, cold is the exciting cause. 
Children, when put to sleep, should never lie with their head 
toward or near a window, or in any other position where 
there is the least liabilit}^ of a draught of air, however slight, 
blowing upon them. A person takes cold much more read- 
ily while asleep than awake. 

Nurses are in the habit of covering the child's face with a 
little blanket after it has been put to sleep. This, by con- 
fining the breath , invariably produces perspiration. Children 
covered in this wa}'- alwaj'S waken with their head dripping 
with sweat, and, when taken up in this condition, are very 



Infantile Affections, 225 

liable to become cliilled, — and snuffles is the result. Do not 
cover the face. 

Syniptoms . — All are acquainted with the sjTnptoms 
of an ordinary cold in the head. It usually commences with 
shivering, some little fever, sneezing, obstruction, and dr}^- 
ness of the nose. This drj^ness is soon followed by a dis- 
charge, more or less profuse, with watering of the ej'es, 
pain through forehead and temples, as well as about the 
root of the nose. Of course the little infant does not com- 
plain of this pain, but the older children do ; therefore we 
are led to infer that all suffer more or less from it. 

The secretion from the nose interferes with respiration, 
and when the passage from the head is completely filled, 
the patient is compelled. to breathe tlirough the mouth ; and 
this soon causes drj'uess and stiffness of the tongue and 
throat. 

TREAT3IE]VT. 

For the premonitory' symptoms of corj'za, with shivering 
and headache, camphor is the best remedy ; and, if admin- 
istered prompth', a few doses will, in the vast majority of 
cases, be sufficient to eflfect a cure. In case j^ou have 
nothing but the ordinarj^ spirits of camphor convenient, 3'ou 
may put one or two drops upon a lump of sugar, and dis- 
solve the whole in water. - 

It is sometimes advisable, when the secretion becomes 
suppressed, or before it has commenced, when the nose is 
hot and dry, to appl}^ with a feather or camel-hair pencil 
a little almond-oil or cold cream to the interior of the nose, 
or let the vapor of hot water pass up the nostrils. Goose- 
gTease rubbed upon the bridge of the nose in any quantity 
is of no earthly use. (Nos. 36, 245.) 

COUGH, OR TUSSIS. 

A cough is not a disease in itself, but rather a sjTiiptom 
denoting an abnormal condition of the limgs or thi'oat. 



226 JFomau's ^ledical Cojupanion. 

Coiigli is a yioleut and sonorous ex|3ulsion of air from the 
lungs, x^recedecl by, rapidl}' followed by, or alternating with, 
quick inspii'ations. 

This, in fact, is but an effort on the part of nature to 
remove some obstruction or to throw off some accumulation 
which disease has created. Duiing the course of an inflam- 
mation of the lungs, there is always more or less mucus 
secreted ; and, were it not for these forcible and yioleut ex- 
pirations, the air-passages would become clogged up, and 
respii'ation materially interfered with. This is but one of 
natui'e's ways to rid herself of an offending substance : she 
has many. Tou will see an illusti-ation of this parental 
care exhibited in the young infant : the child, not knowing 
how to eject air yiolently through the nose for the purpose 
of clearing that organ, has been provided with a " sneeze.'* 

Cough is often combined with a cold in the head, both 
originating from the same cause, namely, exposurSo In the 
majority of cases cough is but a shght inflammation or 
iiiitation of the thi'oat or upper part of the windpipe, ac- 
companied with more or less fever. 

Sometimes, where cough originates from a high state of 
inflammation, the soreness in the throat, the fever, in fact, 
all the acute inflammatory sjTiiptoms will have passed away, 
and the cough, though diminished, still remains. Such a 
cough should not be neglected, or it will become chronic, 
prove troul)lesome, and not easily be gotten rid of. 

Causes. — Like ever}- other disease of the air-passages, 
cough usually originates from exposure. But, then, there are 
ii great many indirect causes which produce coughs ; that is, it 
maybe sympathetic, depending, as it not imfi'equentl}' does, 
upon some derangement of the digestive apparatus. A 
very troublesome kind frequenth' met with is one occa- 
sioned b}' an elongated palate ; this keeps up a constant 
tickling, which is very pro^'oking, and the cause being over- 



Infantile Affections. 227 

looked, it not iinfrequently. proves intractable. It would be 
impossible to enumerate all the causes, direct and indirect, 
which give rise to cough ; in selecting a remedy 3^ou must 
not look upon it as an isolated s^rmptom, you must take 
into account all the attendant circumstances, the source, 
and the peculiar condition of the system at the time. If 
much fever, chilliness, headache, sore throat, pain in the 
windpipe upon pressure, inflammation, elongation of the 
palate, enlargement of the tonsils, congestion, irritation, or 
presence of a foreign body, — all these concurrent and coinci- 
dent symptoms will require special treatment, and the 
cough be treated and looked upon as a result or relative 
effect of that peculiar condition of things. Again, the 
cough may be entirely sj^npathetic, and originating in a 
derangement of some other important viscera besides the 
lungs. 

TREATMENT. 

Now, looking upon cough in this light, you will readily 
see the folly, the utter absurdity, of cough panaceas. I 
would therefore advise you never to have recourse to them. 
Their effect, to say the least, is uncertain, and not unfre- 
quently they do a great deal of mischief. You should study 
each particular case thoroughly and on its own merits ; 
ascertain, if possible, from whence comes the difficulty, and 
endeavor to select a remedy that will give temporary relief. 
Then, if it does not yield to that palliative treatment, at 
once seek the aid of a skilful, intelligent physician. In all 
ordhiar}^ cases jo\i will have no trouble whatever in making 
prompt and perfect cures ; but occasionally you will meet 
with chronic, obstinate cases, which can only be successfully 
treated by the physician. (Nos. 37, 169.) 

Diet. — Patients suffering from cough, particularly if it 
is chronic, should live upon a good, plain, substantial diet, 
avoiding all articles of food which are found to disagree with 



228 Woman's Medical Companion. 

them. Avoid all rich, high-seasoned food, fat meats, new 
bread, and all articles of a stimulating nature, or having a 
strong, pungent taste or smell, strong drinks, acids, beer, 
and so forth ; also spices of ever}" description. 

Regimen. — Free exercise in the open air is highl}^ 
beneficial ; a morning walk, exercise with the dumb-bells ; 
ch'awing large quantities of ak into the lungs, then beating 
npon the chest with the hand ; all this will not onty expand 
and strengthen the lungs, but the whole bodil}' frame. 
Children should be encouraged in lively out-of-door pla}' ; it 
makes them active ; let them run, skip, and jump ; let 
them pla}^ at any and all games calculated to develop their 
ph3'sical and expand their mental faculties. During a por- 
tion of the day children should be permitted uncontrolled 
liberty of action. The dail}" batliing with cold or slightly 
tepid water is the most eifectual method of overcoming a 
predisposition to coughs and colds. A sponge, sitz, or 
shower bath should be taken everj^ morning, and the skin 
should afterwards be rapidly dried and rubbed to a glow, 
either with the hand or a coarse towel, after which the child 
should be warmly dressed. 

BROjVCHITIS. 

This disease has several appellations ; by some it is called 
catarrhal fever, or catarrh on the chest, by others, cold on 
the chest, etc. It is simply an inflammation of the mucous 
membrane lining the bronchial tubes, those formed b}' the 
division of the windpipe, and leading directly to the lungs, 
their office being to convey air into the lungs. In mild 
cases, ordinary bronchitis, or cold on the chest, the in- 
flammation, which is slight, is confined onl}- to the larger 
tubes ; there is little or no difficulty of breathing, moderate 
cough, and slight fever; while in the severer forms, the 
inflammation extends down into the most minute bronchial 



Infaittile Affections. 229 

ramifications, and all the symptoms from the outset are of a 
severe nature. 

Causes. — The chief causes are transitions from warm 
to cold temperatures, or vice versa., and inadequate or unsuit- 
able clothing, especially in children, whose absurd styles of 
dress originate fully three-fourths of the bronchial troubles. 
There is many a long row of little white stones in Forest 
Hills, Mount Auburn, and all our suburban cemeteries, that 
would never have been erected but for the weekly holo- 
causts of innocent little victims which are offered at the 
shi'ine of Fashion. Every physician, as soon as he commences 
to treat a case of bronchitis, orders the child to be warmly 
dressed about the chest and arms, and to be kept from the 
cold au'. He knows that without this precaution, in the 
large majority of cases, his remedies would be prescribed 
in vain. 

Symptoms. — For convenience' sake we divide this 
disease into three forms : 1st, Simple Acute Bronchitis ; 
2d, Acute Suffocative or Ca]pillary Bronchitis ; 3d, Chronic 
Bronchitis. The first form, simple acute bronchitis^ is a very 
frequent disease among children of all ages. It seldom sets 
in suddenly as an inflammatory affection, but gradually de- 
velops itself from an ordinary catarrh or cold in the head. 
The breathing becomes somewhat accelerated, there is more 
or less cough, stuffing of the chest, some fever, and skin a 
little hotter than natural. On applying your ear to the chest 
you will hear a wheezing sound, or a rattling of mucus in the 
air-tubes ; sometimes, after a severe coughing spell, vomit- 
ing will take place. As a general thing, toward night the 
patient is more restless and uneasy, fever higher, and cough 
more troublesome. Remarkable remissions at times take 
place in the course of this disease, the child appearing quite 
well for hours at a time, or it may wake up quite bright in the 
morning, but, as the day wears on, the fever rises, the skin 



230 Woman's Medical Co7np anion. 

again becomes hot and cliy, respiration hurried and anxious, 
cough frequent, with a sensation or an appearance of tight- 
ness across the chest, so that during the day and forepart 
of the night it appears to be quite ill, but, as morning 
approaches, the fever diminishes, the skin becomes moist, 
the cough less frequent, and the child gets a quiet nap, 
which so much refreshes it that during the next forenoon 
it api^ears quite like itself. These s^Tuptoms ma}^ run 
along for four or five da^^s, when the difficulty of breathing, 
with the fever and the restlessness, disappears ; the cough 
grows less, graduall}^ diminishes, and the child soon regains 
its accustomed health. 

In cases rather more severe than this, the cough is a 
prominent sj^mptom from the beginning ; at fii'st dry and 
■vdolent, ver}^ frequent and harassing as weU as painful, the 
paroxysms of coughing sometimes lasting a quarter of an 
hour, during which the child cries, throws its arms up or 
its head back, thus evincing its anxiet}' and pain. The 
cough is excited b}" crpng and sucking. 

As the disease progresses, the cough becomes loose ; small 
children vomit up quantities of plilegm, while larger children 
expectorate quite freely. The mucous rattle ma}^ now be 
heard over almost every part of the lung, the fever is high, 
breathing quick and oppressed, skin hot and dry, pulse 
frequent, child fretful and restless. Older children com- 
plain of pain when coughing, and the infant e^dnces it "bj 
its wincing as well as by its endeavor to suppress the 
cough. The expectoration, at first scant}' and viscid, later 
becomes copious and streaked with blood. There is an 
entire loss of appetite, foul tongue, gi'eat weakness, pale- 
ness of the lips, countenance anxious or dull, and the 
child drows}'. 

Symptoms of improvement, which generally take place in 
three or four days, are diminution of the fever ; the skin, 



Infa7itile Affectio7is. 231 

instead of continuing hot and diy, becomes moist, and feels 
more natural to the touch ; respiration becomes less fre- 
quent, soreness and pain diminished ; the cough becomes 
loose ; the appetite returns, and the child rests better. Or- 
dinary' bronchitis Is a very frequent disease among children, 
and often follows in the wake of whooping-cough, scarlet 
fever, or measles. This form of disease is rarely fatal. 
During convalescence, there is profuse secretion of mucus, 
which can be heard rattling in the chest, from a contractive 
tightening of the muscles. 

Capillary BroilcMtis is so named from the fact 
that the inflammation extends down into the capillaries or 
small subdivisions of the bronchial tubes. It may appear as 
an idiopathic or primary affection, but, as a general thing, 
it succeeds the form just described, particularly- when that 
form has been neglected or improperl}" treated. 

Chronic BroncMtis usually follows an acute attack, 
either on account of improper treatment, or the presence of. 
some hereditar}^ taint, predisposing the child to scrofula or 
consumption. The cough from the acute form never 
entu'el}' ceases ; it becomes loose, and the expectoration 
ma}- be considerable ; the difficulty of breathing, though 
diminished, never entkely disappears ; every night, or per- 
haps only every other night, fever arises, and is followed 
b}^ more or less perspiration ; the lips crack and become 
ulcerated, sores break out around the nostrils, the skin 
looks blanched, e3'es are sunken, appetite lost, strength 
diminished, thirst is excessive. The neighbors and friends 
remark that the child is going into a " decline." These 
S3Tnptoms ma}- last for weeks, months, or even j'^ears ; but 
at an}' time a colhquative or watery diarrhoea may set in, 
and this will soon put out the last ray of its glimmering 
existence, and the little sufferer die of marasmus. 



232 Woman s Medical Co7npaition. 

TREATMEIVT. 

It needs considerable skill, nicety of discrimination, and 
practical experience in the selection and administration of 
remedies for this disease ; and a great many things in regard 
to the general health and constitution of the patient have to 
be taken into consideration. For these reasons we have 
refrained from giving any general treatment, as, in the great 
majority of instances, the advice and experience of a skilful 
ph3'sician will alone meet the requirements of the case, and 
carry it through to a successful issue. (For Temporary 
Remedies, see Nos. 38, 139, 140, 141, 142.) 

PXiEURIST, OR PI.EURITIS. 

The lungs are enclosed and their structure maintained by 
a serous membrane called the pleura. This membrane 
forms a shut sac, as in fact do all the serous membranes ; 
and the lungs fit into it, as a boy's head would into a tippet 
when it is inverted or i^artially folded within itself. You 
will observe, therefore, that the lungs, though enclosed by 
this membrane, are still upon the outside of it. After 
covering the lungs as far as their roots, the pleura is re- 
flected over the inner surface of the chest. Plemis}^, or, as 
ph3^sicians call it, pleuritis, consists of an inflammation of this 
membrane ; at every act of respiration, every time the lungs 
expand and contract, the opposing surfaces of this membrane 
must glide upon each other, and, when in a health}^ state, 
they do this freelj', for the parts are well lubricated with 
serum, just as a piece of machinery is with oil, and for the 
same pui-pose ; but when inflamed, the pleura becomes hot 
and dry, the supply of serum is diminished or entirely sup- 
pressed, and the friction thus inevitably produced causes the 
pain or stitches in the side and chest. Pleurisy may either 
terminate by an adhesion or a gluing together of the opposed 
surfaces of the empty sac, or its walls may be widely 



Ltfantile Affections. 233 

separated b}- a pouring forth of serum ; this latter effect 
constitutes dropsy of the chest. This disease seldom at- 
tacks infants and young children ; it is not as frequent, 
neither is it as dangerous a disease, as inflammation of the 
lungs, Tvith which, however, it is often connected. 

Causes. — The exciting cause, as a general thing, is 
exposure to cold or damp. It may also arise from severe 
injuries to the chest, as from a blow or a fall. 

Symjjtoins. — Pleurisy, from the onset, is marked by 
a sharp, stabbing pain, on a level with, or just beneath one 
or the other of, the breasts, preceded or accompanied by 
chilliness or shivering ; a dr}', ineffectual cough is usually 
present with no expectoration, or, if any, very little, and of 
a froth}^, whitish look ; some difficulty of respiration, high 
fever, pulse quick and hard, great thirst, hot, dry skin, 
loss of appetite, headache, and sometimes bilious vomiting. 
The pain beneath the breast may diffuse itself throughout 
the chest, but usually it is confined to a small space, and is 
of a sharp, stabbing nature, seemingi}^ as though a knife 
were thrust into the side, which prevents the patient from 
taking a long breath, and produces great suffering ; when 
coughing or sneezing, the child endeavors to suppress the 
cough. The pain is alwaj^s aggravated by deep inspira- 
tions, change of position, or by pressing upon the parts ; it 
usually lasts three or four daj^s, and then subsides. In some 
cases — but these are few indeed — there is little or no 
pain. 

The patient cannot lie upon the affected side, at least 
dming the first stages of the disease ; that position increases 
the pain ; however, as the pain subsides, and effusion takes 
place, she is unable to lie on either side, on account of the 
pressure made upon the sound lungs by the effused serum, 
which produces great difficult}^ of breathing. The patient 
is, therefore, compelled to he upon her back, pr nearly so. 



234 Woman's Medical Compaction. 

This eflfiision into the pleural sac, sometimes amounting to 
several pints, causes the affected side to bulge out and 
become evidently larger than the other. 

TREATMENT. 

As in pneumonia, the application of cold bandages is 
often of great service. The diet is substantially the same. 
(Palliative remedies may be found in Nos. 39, 290, 291, 
292, 293.) 

PlVEUMO^riA, OR EVTIiAj^IMATIOIV OF THE liUIVGS. 

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the substance of the 
lungs ; but the majorit}^ of the cases of pneumonia are at- 
tended with more or less inflammation of the serous mem- 
brane lining the interior of the chest, and inverting over 
the lungs ; that is, there is some pleurisy. Bronchitis is 
also a frequent accompanunent. Pneumonia ma}' be either 
single or double ; one lung may be afl'ected or both. It is 
more common upon the right side than upon the left, and 
generally commences in the lower lobes. Why it does so 
is not known, but such is the fact. 

Causes. — Inflammation of the lungs, or lung-fever, as 
some persons call it, is a very important, because frequent, - 
disease of childhood. As a general thing it does not occur 
as a primary aflection, but supervenes as a complication 
either in scarlet fever, measles, whooping-cough, inflamma- 
tion of the bowels, or bilious remittent fever. As cold is 
an active exciting cause, 3'ou will find pneumonia much 
more frequent dming the winter than during the summer 
months. A severe blow or fall upon the chest, the inhala- 
tion of noxious or irritating gases ma}', and often do, pro- 
duce it. I have known children to inhale hot steam from 
the spout of a coffee-pot or tea-kettle, and thereby excite 
an inflammation of the lungs. Children of all ages are 
liable to its invasion ; but, from statistical reports, we are 



Infantile Affectio7ts. 235 

forced to believe that it is more frequent from the third to 
the fourth 3'ear ; nm-sing infants and children under two 
3'ears of age being less liable to it than those older. 

Syini3toniS. — Pneumonia, in the majority of cases, 
commences, as do all inflammatory or febrile diseases, with 
a chill or shivering, followed b}' heat and an increased fre- 
quency of the pulse. Cough is always present, at first dry 
and deep, or quick and spontaneous. The respu-ation is 
accelerated, the breathing from 50 to 60, sometimes even 
60 to 80, in a minute. Pain, or, more properl}'- speaking, a 
stitch in the side, usuall}" the right, on taking a long breath 
or deep inspiration. If 3'ou will now, in this the first 
stage of the disease, place 3'our ear to the j)atient's chest 
you will hear a peculiar crackling sound, similar to that 
produced b}' throwing salt upon hot coals, or like the sound 
produced by rubbing between 3'our finger and thumb a lock 
of one's own haii', close to the ear. This is an important 
S3Tnptom ; it gives an earl3^ and sure intimation that en- 
gorgement or congestion, the forerunner of inflammation, 
has taken place. The expectoration, which, however, is 
seldom present in children under four or five 3'ears of age, 
is at first tough and stick3', but soon changes to a bloody 
mucus ; sometimes, especiall3^ in older children, the sputa 
is of a rusty color. The face is flushed, and wears an 
anxious look ; it is, in severe cases, blanched, and the feat- 
ures pinched ; the skin is hot and dr3^, and of a shiny 
or glazed appearance ; thkst is excesssive ; the pulse ranges 
from 130 to 140 ; in 3'oung children it ma3^ run as high as 
IGO, or even 180; the tongue maybe hot and parched; 
but, as a general thing, 3'ou will find it moist, and covered 
with a 3'ellowish or whitish fur. The patient does not wish 
to be disturbed, would much rather be let alone, usualty hes 
upon his back, and desires nothing but plent3' of cold 
water. 



lA 



236 VVoman^s Medical Companion, 

Now, the train of sj'mptoms presented in a young infant — 
a babe at the breast — differs in some respects. Of course the 
child cannot tell you that it has a pain in the side ; it cannot 
express its sufferings in words. How, then, are j^ou going 
to ascertain what is going on within that little chest? In 
fact, liow are you to know what is the difQcult}^, and where 
located ? Children are not deceitful ; and if 3'ou are atten- 
tive, and at all discriminating, you will have but little 
trouble in interpreting their look of anguish or thek cry of 
pain. 

The child will be peevish, restless, and uneas}^ ; cries and 
frets all the time ; does not care to nurse ; skin hot and dr}', 
respiration short and hurried. You will observe that the 
chest does not rise and fall regularly with each inspiration, 
but the movements are short, uneven, or jerking. 

Respiration is carried on chiefly through the action of the 
abdominal muscles. From the onset, cough is present, at 
first drj', short, and hacking, but it soon becomes loose ; 
vomiting is frequently' present ; sometimes a spell of cough- 
ing will end in vomiting, and, thereb}^, the expulsion of a 
quantity of glutinous mucus, or mucus tinged with blood. 
That the child suffers from pain when coughing is evident 
from the expression of its face ; the grimaces and twistings 
of the features are alwa^^s marked ; and then, as you will 
observe, when the cough comes on, the little sufferer attempts 
to smother it, instead of taking a full inspiration, as it would 
if its chest were not sore ; it tries to make it short and 
sudden ; it tries to suppress it. Each spell of coughing is 
accompanied or instantly followed b}^ a scream of pain, or a 
fit of cr3'ing. The cr}', also, is peculiar. It is not a healthy | 
cry, but a kind of a suppressed cry, more of a sobbing 
nature, but still sharp and shrill, indicative of real suffering. 

When the inflammation has reached its height, which it 
does generally by the fifth or sixth day, the sjTuptoms, not ;, 



Infantile Affections, 237 

invariabl}', but usually, remain stationaiy for one or two 
days, and then begin to subside. The fever diminishes, 
the skin loses its hot and harsh feel, becomes soft and 
moist, the cough becomes quite loose, less frequent, and 
ceases to be painful, the child can take a deep hispkation, 
or even cr}^ aloud, without suffering pain. The flushing of 
the cheeks passes away, the expression of the face becomes 
more natural, the child looks around, and notices all that is 
going on. At this period of the disease children are apt 
to be quite cross and fretful, wanting ever^^thing, and 
throwing all awa}' as soon as gotten. Mothers say that 
this is a good sjTnptom. 

TThen pneumonia ends unfavorabl}', the patient lingers 
along for a great while ; the disease runs the course we 
have described ; but instead of taking a favorable turn, the 
fever continues, the breathing becomes less frequent, but 
more laborious and kregular, the child gradually fails, the 
strength diminishes, the face looks blanched and sunken, 
low muttering deluium may be present, but usually intelh- 
gence is retained to the last. 

TREATMEIVT. 

The temporar}^ treatment, which will have a palliative 
effect until medical aid can be obtained, will be found at 
Nos. 40, 294, 295, 296. 

Diet and Hegiineil. — The diet should be plain, 
consisting of light, easil}' digested substances, panadas, 
gi'uels, etc. Cocoa makes an excellent drink. Cold water 
may be allowed, when desired. The breast, of course, is 
the diet for infants. While suffering under a short attack 
of pneumonia, or more particularly when recovering from 
it, gTeat care should be taken that the child is not exposed 
by taking it from one room to another, through cold halls 
or passages, or into damp basements. 



238 Woman's Medical Companion. 



HOARSEIVESS, OR RATICITTJS. 

This affection, like croup, does not, in itself, constitute 
a disease, but is dependent on some morbid condition of 
the thi'oat or larynx, such as irritation or a congested con- 
dition of the parts. The causes are the same as in almost 
all chest difficulties, and is frequently the sequence of a 
common cold. It ought never to be neglected, for it is one 
of the premonitor}^ s3^mptoms of membranous croup. No. 41 
is an excellent temporary remedy. 

CROtJP 

is one of the most frequent diseases to which childhood is 
exposed. It is almost peculiar to children, and occurs, as 
a general thing, during the period of first dentition, that is, 
about the second year, though children from one to twelve 
years of age are more or less liable to it. It occm-s in- 
differently in the weak and strong, in boj^s and girls. 
Though not contagious^ as some people suppose, there is 
strong argument in favor of its hereditar}" character, a 
predisposition to this disease being very frequently trace- 
able for three or four generations. From whatever cause it 
originates, it consists in a simple ordinary inflammation of 
the upper part of the windpipe — the larj^nx — with a 
violent spasmodic action of that organ. Its attacks are 
usually abrupt, without any premonitory signs, awakening 
the child from his slumber with a paroxj'sm of spasmodic 
coughing. 

Causes. — Croup is more common in cold, damp cli- 
mates than in warm, dr^^ ones. Rapid and frequent changes 
of season, weather, and temperatm^e have considerable influ- 
ence in producing it. Certain conditions of weather speci- 
ally predispose children to its attacks, without doubt ; hence 
the popular idea that it is epidemic in character, and that it 
is a contagious disease, which we do not believe. 



Infantile Affections. 239 

Symptoms. — The sj^mptoms of croup are well marked, 
and need never be mistaken for those of any other disease. 
In the evening, or before midnight, the child will be aroused 
b}^ a parox3'sm of spasmodic coughing. The cough is rough, 
barking, and is accompanied b}^ a shrill, sharp sound ; dur- 
ing the paroxj'sms of cough, the breathing is spasmodically 
oppressed, at times seemingly almost to suffocation. The 
face and neck are at first highly flushed, but, as the parox- 
ysms become more violent, assmne a dark, livid red, which 
afterward passes into a deadly paleness, if the fit is of long 
duration. The veins swell, and beads of perspiration stand 
out upon the forehead ; sometimes the whole head is wet 
with sweat. The disease seems to threaten immediate suf- 
focation, the countenance presenting a picture of the utmost 
anxiety. The patient ma}" remain in this condition for 
fifteen or twenty minutes, or from half an hour to even an 
hour. As soon as the violent symptoms abate, the child 
falls asleep ; and, on awakening, only a slight hoarseness, a 
loose cough, and slight fever will remain. 

If the disease be improperly treated, or neglected, these 
frightful attacks will continue and increase in intensity, 
successive daj^s and evenings ; and before the third day has 
passed the inflammation will have extended through the 
trachea or lower part of the windpipe, toward, and some- 
times even into, the bronchial tubes ; and then, with all its 
attendant horrors, you wiU have a case of true membranous 
croup. 

TREATMEIVT. 

An ordinary case of croup no mother need fear, if she 
only have the proper remedies at hand. A warm bath, 
about 96° temperature, and kept up to that standing or 
raised three or four degrees higher, is an invaluable auxiliary, 
lessening the agitation and subduing the patient's s^nnptoms. 



240 ]Vo7naji's Medical Compa7iio7i, 

Poultices of flaxseed meal should be applied to the thi'oat 
and chest, and a moderate emetic, such as a teaspoonful of 
ipecacuanha wine, a spoonful of diy mustard in water, etc., 
should be immediately administered. 

^JUMBRAIVOrS cRorp 

is an aggravated or exaggerated form of the disease we 
hare just described, and consists in inflammation of the 
lar_^Tix (the upper part of the windpipe) of a highly acute 
character, terminating, in the majority of cases, in the 
exudation of false membrane, more or less abimdautly, upon 
the affected sm-face. The inflammarion usually begins high 
up, near that part which contains the vocal cord, or what 
physicians call the larynx. Perhaps you would better 
understand me if I should say that it commences in the 
region of that projecting caitilage called •* Adam's Apple," 
and extends down into the bronchial tubes. This fonn 
differs from ordinar}' croup in the formation of a false 
membrane upon the inflamed sm'face, which obsti'ucts the 
air-passages, and, in severe cases, completely closes theia 
up, so that the patient dies fi'om actual suffocation. This 
membrane, when coughed up, or when taken from the dead i 
body, looks like a stick of boiled macaroni, is commonly' of 
a 3'ellowish color, and from one-sixteenth to one-twelfth of 
an inch in thickness. Its general symptoms are very similar 
to those of cataiTh, being attended b}' shght fever, drowsi- 
ness, watering of the eyes, and running from the nose. In 
the last stage, and in very severe cases, the child is wholly 
unable to speak, even in a whisper, or cry ; the onh* noise 
it is able to make is the pecuhar violent, short, shilll, 
barking cough. Between the parox^'sms of coughing, the 
wheezing is heard in the au'-passages at every inspu'ation. 
As the disease grows worse, the voice becomes more hoarse, 
the accumulation of false membrane and the mucus increases, 



Infantile Affections. 241 

till at last the tube is entirely filled up or completely lined, 
so as to preclude the possibility of respiration — and death 
is the inevitable result. The duration of the disease is from 
three to twelve or fourteen days, though many cases have 
occurred in which death has taken place on the first day. 

TREATMENT. 

In all cases, the treatment must necessarily be left to 
some skilful and experienced phj^sician, the life of the pa- 
tient being in too great danger to permit of its being left to 
nurses or relatives, however careful, intelhgent, or aff'ection- 
ate they may be. (Remedies at Nos. 42, 43, 174, 175, 176, 
177.) 

TTHOOPIJVG-COUGH, OB PERTUSSIS. 

This is one of that peculiar class of diseases that seldom, 
if ever, attacks the same individual but once in a lifetime. 
It is essentiall}^ a disease of childhood. Not but that adults 
would be just as liable to it as children were it not for the 
fact that they had already had it as children. Let it once 
enter a family of children, and the whole group is pretty cer- 
tain to have an attack. It is undoubtedly contagious, and 
usuall}'' appears in the spring and fall. When it occurs in the 
fall, it is generally more severe, from its frequent complica- 
tion with catarrhs, lung diseases, and other ailments. Par- 
ticular care should be taken that feeble children, as well as 
youn^ and dehcate infants, are not exposed to whooping- 
cough dming the fall months. Its duration extends from 
six weeks to six months. 

Symptoms. — Whooping-cough may be divided into 
three stages: 1. The Catarrhal; 2. The Spasmodic; and 
3. The stage of Decline. The catarrhal period commences 
with the ordinary sj'mptoms of a common cold. For ten or 
twelve days, the child will generally evince all the charac- 
teristics of catarrh, though occasionally this stage wiU be 



242 Woman^s Medical Companioit. 

entirel}^ absent. The spasmodic stage is marked by violent 
spasmodic i^aroxysms of coughing, =svhic'h occm- at longer or 
shorter intervals, lasting from a quarter to three-quarters of 
a minute. These fits may succeed each other so rapidl}^ as 
to make one continued parox3^sm of fifteen minutes' dura- 
tion. They are made up of a succession of expirations with- 
out any intervening inspirations^ until the little suflTerer gets 
almost black in the face, and appears upon the point of suffo- 
cation. This is followed b}^ one long-drawn act of inspira- 
tion, which produces that peculiar shrill sound, or whoop, 
from which the disease derives its name. This operation 
i? repeated time after time, until all the air is expelled from 
the lungs, the long inspiration again filling them ; and the 
]^arox3^sm usually terminates in the expulsion of a quantit}^ 
of thick, ropy mucus, or else in vomiting. In some A-er}" 
severe cases, dui'ing a fit of coughing, blood will fl}^ from the 
nose and mouth, and occasionally from the eyes and ears. 
The e^'es, bloodshot and sunken, will fairly start from their 
sockets, presenting a horrid spectacle of suffering. The 
stage of decline consists in an amehoration of the severe 
s^Tnptoms ; the paroxysms become less frequent and of 
shorter duration ; the child's appetite returns, and he again 
resumes his natural habits and disposition. In this stage 
of improvement, when all is going on smoothly, a slight 
cold may reproduce all the distinct characteristics of this 
peculiar cough. (For remedies, see Nos. 44, 170, 171.) 

Complications. — Simple whooping-cough, when un- 
connected with any other disease, is seldom or never at- 
tended with much danger. But its complications are many, 
and of various fonns ; therefore it is highl}^ important that 
all the accidents apt to occur should receive a careful con- 
sideration. Bronchitis is a frequent complication, and ma}' 
be recognized b}' a greater amount of fever, increased diffi- 
culty of breathing, and an incessant congh during the first 



Infantile Affections. 243 

stage. The expectoration will be more difficult, less profuse, 
and liaA'e a froth}' or 3'ellowish look. A marked expression 
of pain will cross the child's face in every fit of coughing. 
Sometimes the whooping-cough will be entirely superseded 
b}' the bronchial affection. Cg^^vulsions are by no means 
rare as a complication, and are b}' far the most dangerous ; 
and consequently require the most vigilant care and watch- 
fulness. Convulsions and head troubles are usually found 
in connection with whooping-cough at about the second 
3'ear, or during dentition, and may be considered serious 
and especially liable to a fatal termination. Pneumonia is 
another complication often met with, the sj'mptoms of which 
will be found indicated under that head. 

Diet and Regimen. — This is a matter of the great- 
est importance. An}i;hing stimulating should be especially 
avoided. It should be particularly plain and nutritious. 
Light and easily digested food is the best. Spices and hot 
stimulating drinks should never be permitted. Cold water, 
oatmeal gruel, barle}'- water, rice-water, toast-water, etc., 
are the onl}' suitable beverages. Exposure to cold will veiy 
much aggravate the cough and even reproduce all the severe 
sjTiiptoms when the child is in a fair way of recovery. The 
dress should be so regulated as to guard against sudden 
atmospheric changes, and the body be kept at an even tem- 
perature. 

IXFAIVTIIiE ASTHMA. 

This disease has frequentl}' been confounded with spas- 
modic croup, and treated as such. It is piu-el}' a nervous 
affection, and is chiefly manifested in children of a strumous 
or scrofulous habit, occurring between the first and third 
year of hfe, and frequently connected with dentition or a 
deranged state of the digestive system. Many of the symp- 
toms are similar to those of croup, but asthma may be dis- 
tinguished by the absence of premonitory sjTnptoms, its 



244 Woman'' s Medical Companion. 



occiuTence in tlie da}i:irQe as well as at night, the absence 
of fever, and its leaving no cough or hoarseness behind it. 
No. 45 will be found an efficient remedy. 

I^ABYNGITIS, OB IXFIiAMMATIOX OF THE liARTlVX. 

Laryngitis is simply an inflammation of the mucous 
membrane lining the lar^Tix, just as bronchitis is an inflam- 
mation of the mucous membrane lining the bronchial tubes. 
It occurs at all times of life, but as a general thing is con- 
fined to children of from three to six years of age. It very 
much resembles an ordinary case of croup, the only point 
of difl'erence being the absence of that peculiar spasmodic 
cough. On looking into the throat, you will observe more 
or less inflammation about the tonsils and palate, which ma}^ 
be diffused over the whole surface, or be in patches varying 
in color from a mere blush, as in mild cases, to a deep-rose 
or even a violet-red. The first s^'mptom which should ex- 
cite your alarm and prompt 3'ou to call in a ph3'sician, is 
the difficulty of swallowing^ for which you can find no acZe- 
quate cause. To this will be added difficulty of breathing. 
The respiration is peculiar, being attended with a throttling 
noise, each inspiration producing a wheezing sound, as if 
the air were drawn through a narrow reed. The larj^nx is 
painful upon external pressure, the face flushed, skin hot 
and dr}^, pulse more frequent than in health, rising to 120° 
or 130° per minute, and the child is thirsty, restless and 
uneasy. The disease is, happily, not very frequent, at least 
the severer form of it. It is easih' distinguished from a 
common sore throat b}^ the difficult}- of breathing and swal- 
lowing. It is true, extreme enlargement of the tonsils ob- I 
structs respiration, but then on inspection this swelling will 
be visible. In larj'ngitis, there is but slight inflammation and 
swelling, at least little can be seen of it. {See Remedy \ 
No. 46.) 



Infantile Affections. 245 

Diet and Reg'imen. — A child suffering from this 
disease should be confined to a warm room, and not be al- 
lowed to roam all over the house, through cold rooms and 
in draughts of air. A slight reduction of diet is advisable, 
forbidding all condiments or anj'thing of a stimulating 
nature. A fiirinaceous diet is the best. The application of 
cold water is alwaj^s advisable, often affording great relief. 
Rubbing the throat with camphorated oil, goose-grease, or 
Ready Relief, or, in fact, the application of embrocations or 
stimulating lotions of any kind, is highly objectionable. 

COLDS. 

The term ' ' cold" is a relative one, used to express a certain 
condition or sensation produced by the abstraction of heat 
from the S3'stem by any substance of a lower temperature 
than that of the body. This may not alwaj^s be occasioned 
b}' the same degree of temperatm^e. For instance, a tem- 
perature that, to a health}^, vigorous, active man would seem 
warm or comfortable, would, to one enfeebled by disease, 
appear quite the reverse. A man or child, though not 
ph3''sically strong, but full of energy, courage, and excite- 
ment, would resist a greater amount of cold than one who 
is faint-hearted, nervousl}" depressed, or despondent. 
Children are more susceptible to atmospheric depressions 
than adults, and simpl}^ because the power of generating 
heat within themselves is weak, undeveloped. Cold does not 
alwa3's cause disease in the exact part to which it has been 
applied ; that is to say, because a person sits through a 
tedious concert with a draft of air continuously playing a 
disease-tattoo on his back, he must not necessarily have 
rheumatic pains or some other trouble in the part, although 
this may be the case. As a general rule, the cold, by 
diminishing vital actions in the parts on which it acts, so 
determines and increases the same in distant parts, as to 



246 Woman's Medical Companion. 

give rise to congestions and inflammations, or to a train of 
diseased action, more or less definite, ^hicli. b}' common 
consent, is nsuallj' termed a cold, sucli as cliills, general 
soreness and lameness, j)ains and aches in the head and 
limbs, followed, as soon as reaction comes on, by accelerated 
resi^iration and ciiX' illation, as Avell as other symptoms which 
constitute fever. 

Cold does not affect all persons alike. Two ladies, ex- 
posed to the same current of air, may. as the result, suffer 
from diseases quite dissimilar. This depends upon pecu- 
liarities in temperament, predisposition, and habits of the 
individual. As a general rule, however, those organs or 
I)arts of the system are first affected which are the weakest. 
If the lungs are predisposed to disease, cold will develop 
some difficulty in these organs. Should a person be subject 
to catarrh, cold will act as an exciting cause to bring it into 
action. Children subject to croup, glandular enlargements, 
or gatherings in the head, need only a cold to set the dis- 
ease in motion = The same principle is true with other 
organs and structures of the system. The extent and severity 
of the disease thus excited will depend upon the amoimt of 
exposm-e and the dehcacy of the part affected. The most 
common results of taking cold are catarrh and croup, some- 
times fever, cohc, dysenter}', diarrhoea, nem-algia, sore 
thi'oat, pains in the teeth, ears, or general pain and soreness 
thi'oughout the whole system. (-See Remedy Xo. 47.) 

DISEASES OF THE STOMACH A^TD EVTESTEVES. 

The particular age at which chilch-en are most hable 
to these affections is from birth to the termination of the 
first dentition ; tliis, of course, includes the second summer. 
From this period onward, as the child increases in years, it 
becomes less Hable to their invasion. 

Causes. — By far the most frequent exciting cause of 



Infantile Affections. 247 

all gastric diseases during iiifanc}', is an improper or un- 
■wholesome diet. Thej are not unfrequenth', in nursing 
infants, dependent upon an unhealth}^ condition of the 
mother's milk ; but it appears to me that the chief source of 
difficulty is the too earl}" resort to an artificial diet, or an 
artificial diet badly chosen. Of course, the natural aliment 
of an infant, for the first nine months, is the mother's milli, 
which, during the first few months, is ver}- thin, and pos- 
sesses properties pecuhar to itself. Xow contrast this with 
the various articles of food prepared for children, consisting 
mainlj' of pap, or thick bread and milli, or crackers moist- 
ened with milk and water, to which sugar is added ; gruels 
of all kinds ; coarse preparations of rice, barle}', etc. As 
before intimated, the stomach of an infant is only intended 
to receive the milk provided by its parent ; and it is entirely 
incapable of digesting the thick or coarse, and often too 
rich, food, which is so frequentlj" substituted for that which 
natm-e has provided. But it is not only the quality of the 
food that is at fault, but the quantity. The overfeeding 
of children is a constant and never-failing source of mis- 
chief. Childi'en artificially fed scarcely ever escape these 
intestinal derangements. Diarrhoea frequently sets in im- 
mediatel}' after weaning a child, and this is the necessary 
result of irritation of the mucous membrane lining the in- 
testinal canal, produced by the change of food. 

Indigestion, or loss of digestive power, and the conse- 
quent enervation and wasting away of the sj'stem from im- 
perfect assimilation, is but the direct effect of an improper 
diet, or the over-taxation of the digestive apparatus from 
excessive feeding. 

The heats of summer and sudden atmospheric changes 
are undoubtedlj' powerful predisposing causes to infantile 
bowel complaints ; in fact, we seldom have these diseases to 
an}" great extent, presenting all their characteristic features, 



248 Woman's Medical Coinpaiiio?t, 

except during the hot months of snmmer. To the heats of 
summer we have usually to add impure air and badh'- 
yentilated houses. As you pass through some of the 
streets of our cities, and inhale the effluvia from the dii't}" 
gutters, you wonder, not that so many are taken sick, but 
that all do not die ; and then, when 3-ou come to enter the 
damp basements, and find huddled together whole famiUes 
of ten or a dozen persons, occupying one room, in which 
they cook, eat, and sleep, you are actually bewildered and 
in amazement, wondering how any mortal can di-aw the 
breath of life from such a vitiated atmosphere. To people 
living thus, and all those who reside in narrow, crowded 
streets and alleys, these diseases are as scourges. But 
these disorders are not confined exclusively to the poor and 
to those living beneath the ground, and away from the light 
and air which God has given us. No, the}' are only too 
common among all classes of the inhabitants of our large 
cities. 

Dentition being a natural physiological process, we 
should not expect it to be productive of any evil results ; 
nevertheless, it is a well-estabhshed fact that the cutting 
of teeth is a powerful predisposing cause to intestinal iiTita- 
tion, and it frequently impaii's or diminishes the tone of the 
digestive function, so that the infant is often unable, during 
the period of dentition, to digest food, which at other times 
agrees with it iDerfec|:ly well. Gastric derangements of 
children, from the completion of the first dentition to the 
age of eight or ten years, ma^^, in the majoritj' of cases, be 
traced directly' to the persistent inattention on the part of 
mothers and nurses to the general laws of health. It is the 
strangest thing in all the world to me, that poor human na- 
ture, plain and sunple in all its requirements, should be so 
wholly disregarded. It is either from ignorance or thought- 
lessness, or most likel}" both. It is quite a common thing. 



Infantile Affections. 249 

in fact the general custom, to allow children of from two to 
three j^ears to sit at the table and partake of the same food 
that is prepared for the adult members of the famil}^ : hot 
rolls and butter, hot buckwheat cakes, sausages, salt fish, 
radishes, cucumbers, candies, meats, and indigestible dishes 
of all kinds. These are partaken of at all hours, and in ex- 
cess, from breakfast-time to just before going to bed ; and 
the wonder is, not that we are a pale, thin, dj^speptic, and 
anxious looking race of people compared with Europeans, 
but that we have an}' health at all, especially when our chil- 
di'en are allowed to make use of the indiscriminate and 
unwholesome diet we have described. 

Now, one would think this alone would be sufficient to 
exterminate the whole race in a short time ; but to all this 
is 3'et to be added that vile, pernicious habit of drugging 
children with medicines. Most mothers and nurses have 
each their little collection of remedies. For ever}' little ail- 
ment that may overtake a child, brought about by some 
error in diet, a dose of medicine, usually a cathartic, must 
be given. And what is the result? Why, a slight indispo- 
sition, which a little care or judicious restriction in diet 
would have speedily removed, is transformed into some 
serious disorder. The medicine given is so repulsive to 
nature that the whole sj^stem is thrown into commotion in 
the effort to reject it ; the child is vomited, ph3'sicked, — 
thoroughly "cleaned out." If the child recovers, it is in 
sjnte of the treatment ; but usually the digestive apparatus 
and the entire nervous sj'stem are shattered, the child be- 
comes irritable, cross, morose, a burden to itself and to 
all around it. I never pass through our cemeteries, and 
contemplate the rows of small white stones, without the 
thought crossing my mind, — 

Sleep on, sweet child, thy trouble's past ; 

Physic has freed thy soul at last. 



250 Woman's Medical Cornpajiion. 



THRUSH, OR APHTHA]. 

The term thrush or aphthcB is applied to an ulcerated sore 
mouth pecuhar to infants, which makes its appearance 
during the first 3'ear, as a general thing within the fii'st 
fortnight. Nurses, and women of experience generall}', 
anticipate and avert its arrival b}' frequently washing the 
infant's mouth with a soft linen rag dipped in cold water. 
The most prolific cause is the trash which is forced down 
the poor infant's throat during the fii'st few weeks of its 
existence. It consists of a series of vesicles or pimples, 
capped with small white spots, which break out into ulcers, 
occuppng the internal siu-face of the under lip and cheeks, 
the edges of the tongue and giims, sometimes extending 
over the entire mouth. There is little or no fever, though 
the mouth is hot, and the quantit}' of sahva is largely 
increased. "WTien the ulceration extends far back. into the 
mouth, the stomach, and the alimentary canal, the act of 
swallowing is materialh' interfered with and performed with 
great pain. In such cases diarrhoea often sets in, and the 
affection assumes a serious aspect. 

TREATMEIVT. 

Borax is an excellent remedy, and majy either be given 
dr3', in the form of pills, or in solution, and is verj' fre- 
quently' used as a gargle. (Xo. 48.) 

CAJVKER OF THE MOUTH. 

This form of sore mouth is usualh' found in children of 
from five to ten 3'ears of age ; b}' many it is considered con- 
tagious, but upon this point physicians are divided, though 
all agree in considering it epidemical. It is an inflammation 
of the mucous membrane, with an exudation upon the surface 
of a 3'ellowish, plastic IjTnph, with erosion or ulceration, 



Infantile Affections. 251 

which occasional^, particularly if improperl}' treated, be- 
comes ver}'' destructive in character, running into dark, deep, 
sloughing sores. It is also known as cancrum oris, scurvy 
of the mouth, or canker-sores. 

Symptoms. — The peculiar characteristics of this 
disease are : first, pain and uneasy sensations in the gums, 
which soon become hot, red, and very sensitive ; they also 
swell, become spong}', and bleed when touched. The gums 
and internal sm-face of the cheeks are covered, or rather 
spotted over, with patches of false membrane, which adhere 
with considerable force to the tissue beneath. Under this 
laj'er of exudation small ulcers make their appearance on 
the gums, the inside of the lips and cheeks, the soft 
palate, and edges of the tongue. Sometimes this false 
membrane is entirel}^ wanting, when the ulcers are plainly 
visible, and present a gi-a^'ish or livid appearance, with 
swollen, softened, or bleeding edges. 

These ulcerated spots may be but few in number, either 
upon the inner surface of the lips and cheeks, or edges of 
the gums, or the}' ma}' be studded over the whole cavity of 
the cheek. The breath is alwaj'S more or less fetid, and 
not unfrequentl}' has a putrescent odor ; and sometimes, 
especiall}' in severe cases, there is a copious discharge of 
offensive blood}' serum from the mouth. The glands about 
the throat and neck are swollen and painful, the moA^ements 
of the under-jaw are stiff; this, together with the looseness 
of the teeth, makes mastication very difficult, while swallow- 
ing is interfered with from soreness of the tongue and 
throat. There is generally more or less of a low grade of 
fever ; the patient loses his strength, and becomes very 
much prostrated. The course of this disease is short, if 
under judicious treatment, but not unfrequently sudden, 
severe, and destructive salivation is set up by the excessive 
administration of calomel, which, if not ending in gangrene 



252 Woman's Medical Companion. 

of the mouth, prolongs the difficult}' to an indefinite length 
of time, (For Temporaiy Remedies, see Nos. 49, 145, 
146.) 

Diet and Hegimen. — The diet should be plain, and 
of either a farinaceous or vegetable form ; animal food, 
either solid or in soups or broths, had better be dispensed 
with. It is desirable that the mouth should be frequently 
gargled or rinsed out, and especially after eating, that no 
offensive matter or particles of food maj^ remain to irritate 
the parts. A weak solution of brandy and water makes the 
best wash ; lemon-juice and water or a decoction of sage is 
also frequently used. Decajxd teeth, or stumps of teeth 
remaining in the mouth, are a frequent source of irritation, 
and should be speedil}' removed. 

GAIVGREAE OF THE MOUTH. 

This term — gangrene — signifies mortification, which is 
justly the terror of all who have to contend with it. It gen- 
eralh' commences with ulceration of the mucous membrane 
lining the cheek and gums . The mucous tissues and substance 
of the mouth, gums, lips, etc., are destroj'ed, turn black, and 
slough awa}', the teeth loosened, and the jaw-bone denuded 
and exposed. The affection is seldom met with in private 
practice, and is almost exclusively confined to institutions 
where large numbers of children are gathered promiscuously 
together. It ahnost alwa3's follows upon some pre^dous 
acute or chronic disease, such as long-continued fevers, 
measles, or other acute exanthemata, during which the pa- 
tient suffered more from the treatment than from the actual 
disease. Unfavorable hygienic conditions, debihtated con- 
stitutions, a scrofulous habit, etc., are conceded on all 
sides to constitute the predisposing cause of this affection, 
but the exciting cause has been and still is a bone of con- 
tention among physicians encountering this disease. It is 



hi f until e Affections. 253 

perfectl}^ plain, however, to those who are disposed to see, 
that gangrene of the mouth is nothing more nor less than 
poisoning b}' mercury. The duration of the disease extends 
from six to twenty days ; and the aspect of the poor little 
patient is as sad as it is hideous. This disease is usually 
terminated by entire prostration, insensibility, and death. 

PTYAI^ISM, OR SAIilVATIOIV. 

This disease consists in an irritation, inflammation, and 
swelling of the salivary glands of the mouth and throat, 
with a profuse discharge of saliva or spittle. Most persons 
are too apt to attribute it to the injudicious use of mercury ; 
but we often see patients recovering from severe attacks of 
fever, with all the symptoms of salivation, where there has 
not been one particle of mercury given. Salivation is pro- 
duced by administration of copper, antimony, potassium, 
arsenic, castor-oil, digitalis, and opium, under certain con- 
ditions of the system, quite as readil}^ as by mercur^^-. 
Sometimes it occurs spontaneously, as a result of local 
irritation, decaj^ed teeth, cold, fever, etc. It occasionally 
occurs as a critical discharge, by the action of nature, and 
is then beneficial. 

The salivary glands and mucous membrane of the mouth 
and throat are red, swollen, and considerably inflamed, the 
glands beneath the under jaw being enlarged and very ten- 
der. The saliva, which is discharged in large quantities, is 
much changed in its character and appearance. Instead of 
being thin, water}', colorless, inodorous, and tasteless, as 
in health, it becomes dark, thick, stringy, fetid, and very 
offensive. 

All astringent washes or gargles which directly diminish 
the salivary discharge are injurious. Mild washes or 
gargles, such as milk and water, may be used with consid- 
erable benefit. (Also Remedy No. 50.) 



254 Wo7nan's Medical Companioji. 

The diet must be of the mildest kind, — gTuels, milk and 
water, crackers soaked in water, plain puddings, and the 
like. For a diink, cold water maybe used, or cocoa, if the 
patient likes it. 

RAAIJIiA, OR SWEI.I.I1VG UXDER THE TONGUE. 

This is a swelling of the subling-ual glands, caused by 
some obstruction of the salivary duct — which is the little 
canal that carries the sahya from the gland to the mouth — 
from cold, inflammation, or some irritating cause. Tumors 
of this kind are not generally painful ; but when thej^ are 
of an}^ considerable size, they interfere ^ith the free motion 
of the tongue, and thus materially impede the power of 
speech. {See Remedy yo. 51.) 

GIJM-BOrCS.— ABSCESS 131 THE GUMS. 

Almost every form of swelling with inflammation aflfect- 
ing the gums (even abscesses and suppurations) are 
popularly but erroneously classed under the head of gum- 
boils. This is a very annoying aflTection, and arises from 
various causes, such as cold, decaying teeth, or the cutting 
of new teeth, especially the molars and bicuspids, or from 
their unskilful abstraction. Sometimes a slight incision by 
knife or lancet will be found necessar}^ ; but outward apph- 
cation of anodynes, warm cloths, fomentations, etc., will 
usually be found efl'ective. {See Remedy Ko. b'2.) 

MUJIPS, OR PAROTITIS. 

The salivary glands are six in number, three upon either 
side of the throat, and are called the parotid^ the sub- 
maxillary^ and the suhlingual. The j^ct^'otkl are situate 
below and in front of the ear ; the suhmaxillai-y below the 
lower jaw, and the sublingual under the tongue. The office 
of these glands is to fui'nish the saliva or spittle with which 



htfantile Affections. 255 

the food during mastication is softened, so that when carried 
into the throat it passes with ease through the oesophagus 
into the stomach. 

Now, mumps is an inflammation of the largest and most 
important of these glands, the parotid; hence the name 
parotitis. It often prevails as an epidemic. When it 
attacks one child in a family or a school, it is almost cer- 
tain to affect all the others, simultaneously or in succession. 
It is undoubtedly contagious, chiefly attacks children and 
young persons, and seldom, we may say never ^ attacks a 
person the second time. 

There are no marked S}Tnptoms at the commencement of 
the disease, except the tumefaction and swelling under the 
ear. Sometimes one side only is affected, and sometimes 
both at once, but most frequently one side is first affected, 
and the disease afterwards extends to the other. The swelling 
is hot, dry, and painful, and ver}^ tender to the touch. There 
is usuall}^ some fever ; the motion of the under jaw is inter- 
fered with from the sweUing in the vicinity of the joint. The 
inflammation reaches its height in about four days', and then 
begins to dechne ; its whole duration may be stated, on an 
average, at eight or ten daj^s. 

Mumps is not considered dangerous, unless from im- 
prudent exposure the patient takes cold, or from any other 
cause the disease "strikes in," that is, becomes thi'own 
back upon the s^^stem, so as to involve some of the vital 
organs. In many cases, under these cn-cumstances, the 
swelhng about the throat and neck subsides quickly on the 
fifth or seventh da}^, and shows itself upon the testicles in 
the male sex, and upon the breast in the female, and these 
parts become hot, swollen, and painful. Another dangerous 
transfer of this disease, but particularly rare, is from the 
testicles to the brain. {See Remedy No. 53.) 

Diet and Keffimen. — The diet must be liorht. 



256 Woman's Medical Companion. 

Toast and black tea, cocoa, custards without spice, bread- 
puddings, baked apples, and stewed prunes maybe allowed. 
If it is dming cold weather, the patient should be kept in 
a moderately warm room ; if there is much fever, he had 
better lie in bed. No external application need be made, 
unless it be simpl}^ a handkerchief tied around the neck. 
Should the neck get very tense, hot, and dr}^, it will be 
advisable to apply hot flannel cloths. Great care must be 
taken to prcA^ent the patient from taking cold. Never apply 
cold water or any of the many lotions ; follow simply the 
directions above given. 

EVFIiAMMATIOW AlVD SWEIiT^IlVG OF THE TOWGXJE.— 
GliOSSITIS. 

Glossitis is an inflammation of the substance of the 
tongue, characterised by pain, redness, hardness, and swell- 
ing, either with dryness of the mouth or profuse discharge 
of sahva, and accompanied with the usual sj^mptoms of 
inflammatory fevers. The inflammation may be confined 
to one side of the tongue, or the whole organ may be 
implicated. 

It usually arises from mechanical injuries, or from con- 
tact mth chemical agents or acrid substances which excite 
irritation. This afl'ection is sometimes induced b}" exposure 
to cold or to cuiTeuts of cold air about the head after the 
use of mercurials, or by the suppression of the sahvary 
discharges. In many cases the attack is very sudden, a 
severe inflaimnatory action setting in without any apparent 
cause. The first S3Tnptom complained of is usually an 
acrid, stinging sense of heat or burning pain in the tongue. 
The inflammation, as a general thing, sets in very suddenty, 
and proceeds rapidh^ ; the pain and swelling is very gi-eat ; 
the tongue i^resents a livid or dark red appearance. The 
inflammation may commence upon one side, or be restricted 



Infantile Affections, 257 

to a very small portion, but gradually it may extend until the 
whole organ becomes involved. During the progress of the 
disease the pain becomes more acute, and of a burning and 
lancinating character, which is aggravated b}" the slightest 
movement ; the attempt to talk or swallow causes great suf- 
fering. In severe cases, the tongue becomes enormously 
swollen, filling the entire mouth, speaking and swallowing 
being prevented while respiration is obstructed, even to 
threatened suffocation. In other cases, the swoUen and 
inflamed organ is protruded from the mouth, presenting a 
horrid picture of suffering. The tongue is usually furred 
over with a thick coating, and a profuse secretion of saliva 
flows from the mouth. Should j^ou meet with a case where 
the swelhng has become so enormous as to threaten suffo- 
cation before a physician can arrive, do not hesitate to 
take 3'our knife, or any sharp instrument, and make a free 
longitudinal incision in the tongue. This gives egress to the 
blood, which removes the congestion and relieves the 
patient. {See Remedy No. 54.) 

DEiVTITION, OR TEETHIIVG. 

Dentition being a natural process, we should scarce^ 
expect it to occasion disease or suffering of any sort, 
and were all children in a perfectly healthy condition 
at the time of its commencement, they would suffer but 
little, if anj^, during this period. But all children are not 
born health}', and many that are ordinarily healthy at birth, 
are, by neglect and mismanagement in dress, diet, and ex- 
ercise, speedily rendered unhealthy. Under these circum- 
stances, dentition frequently becomes complicated, difficult, 
and dangerous, the digestive organs and nervous system 
being the first to feel the baneful influence. 

The first, millc, or temporary teeth, are twent}^ in number, 
and begin to make their appearance at about the sixth 



258 Woman's Medical Companion. 

month, continuing until the end of the second ^■'ear, those 
of the lower jaw preceding the upper. The regular order 
and time of teething, however, is subject to consider- 
able variation. Some children get their teeth two or three 
weeks after birth, or are even born with them, while others 
do not cut any teeth until the}^ are ten or twelve months 
old. Teething, in the most favorable cases, is preceded by 
slight salivation or drooling, as it is called, by heat and 
swelhng of the giuns, increased thirst, restlessness, or fret- 
fulness, etc. Sometimes there is a rash upon the skin, 
called " red gmn" or tooth-rash. Connected with teething, 
there are often many sjTiipathetic affections, such as deter- 
mination of blood to the head, convulsions, constipation, 
swelling and sux)puration of glands, eruptions of various 
kinds, both upon the head and bod}', gatherings and dis- 
charges from the ears, cough, and general irritabihty of the 
nervous sj'stem, so that trifling ailments, which at other 
times would scarce!}' trouble the child, would, dming this 
period, excite a train of acute and serious sjTnptoijis which 
onl}' prompt and judicious treatment could successfully com- 
bat. In children of deficient vital power, a cold, an error 
in diet, or some undiscoverable cause, may excite a slight 
derangement, at first scarcel}' noticeable, but which, by 
improper treatment or neglect, leads to a permanent state 
of bad health, ending in tubercular degeneration of the 
lungs or digestive apparatus. The necessity', therefore, of 
zealousl}' guarding the children from every source of disease, 
to which the}^ might be exposed at this time, will be obvi- 
ous to all. Unfortunatel}', however, for the children, most 
3-oung mothers haA'e aunts, gi'andmothers, or some well- 
meaning but officious female friends who " know all about 
these httle complaints of teething, and can ti^eat them qiute 
as well as any doctor." The mantel-piece is accordingly 
adorned with lotions, pills, and powders, bottles of all kinds 



Infantile Affections. 259 

in waiiilvG arra}^, — ipecac, squills, Godfrey's cordial, pare- 
goric, soothing sirups, castor-oil, sulphur and molasses, 
peppermint, goose-grease, catnip-tea, mustard, and onion 
draughts, — all of which the poor infant is bound to have 
thrust down its throat in regular and constant succession. 
This is continued day after daj^, until the child is ' ' doc- 
tored" into some serious disease. Then the physician is 
sent for, but, alas ! too late to be of any service : the child 
dies, either from the disease or the treatment ; most fre- 
quently from the treatment, for the disease itself seldom 
kiUs. 

The Care of tlie Teetll. — The proper culture and 
preservation of children's teeth is a subject demanding the 
attention of every thoughtful parent. When taking into 
consideration the importance of sound and regular teeth, 
alike in regard to health, comfort, and appearance, the little 
care and attention requisite to keep them in a proper state 
seems almost insignificant. The soundness of the teeth 
depends in a gi'eat measure upon a healthy state of the 
stomach and bowels, so that whatever tends to the derange- 
ment of those organs will exert a deleterious influence upon 
the teeth. Children are often refused candies because they 
are said to rot the teeth. Now, sugar itself never directly 
injures the teeth, but the confectioners' preparations, with 
the mj'steriously-made but pretty-looking fixings of which 
children are in the habit of partaking, have a direct and 
extremely injurious effect upon the stomach, deranging the 
bowels, causing dj^spepsia, flatulence, and gassy eructations, 
which blacken and corrode the enamel of the teeth, thus 
lading the foundation for their decay and speedy destruc- 
tion. As a general thing, health}^ persons have sound 
teeth, while sickly, feeble persons have decayed teeth. 

A few brief hints for the preservation of the teeth will 
here, we doubt not, prove acceptable to our readers. 



260 Womaji's Medical Companion. 

1st. Tliey must he Jcej^t clean; not b}' the use of denti- 
frices, tooth-pastes, powders, etc., but b}' the nse of piu'e 
water and powdered charcoal or white Castile soap, apphed 
with a soft brush. 

2d. By avoiding the introduction of Terr hot or very 
cold substances into the mouth, as all sudden changes of 
temperature eventually crack the enamel and produce 
decay. 

8d. By peremptorily forbidding the use of metallic 
toothpicks of any kind. 

4th. By remo^'ing the temporary teeth as fast as they 
get loose. 

5th. By refraining from the practice of cracking nuts, 
biting threads, or lifting heavy bodies, etc., with the teeth. 
{See Remedy ^o. 55.) 

TOOTHACHE. 

This troublesome and painful affection, for which so little 
sympathy is felt, either in youth or adult, has its origin in 
many causes : some are hereditarily predisposed to it ; in 
others it is induced by exposure ; it may originate from dis- 
turbances hi other parts of the system, or it may be purely 
nervous. It is often rheumatic, or may have its origin in 
carious teeth and the excessive use of coffee or calomel, etc. 

TREATMEIVT. 

Do not have the teeth extracted, unless they are decayed 
or the roots ulcerated. Many of the ordinary remedies for 
toothache are not onh" useless, but positively injurious to 
the general health, as well as to the teeth themselves, such ' 
as creosote, laudanum, tincture of cloves, etc. Better 
remove the cause of the diseased condition. (Treatment 
Nos. 5G, 321, 322, 323, 32-4.) 



Infantile Affections. 261 



SORi: THROAT, OR UlIIVSY. 

This is known by a variety of names, and consists in an 
inflammation of the back part of the throat, inchiding the 
palate and tonsils, frequenth^ terminating in the formation 
of abscesses in the tonsils or adjacent parts. It is not 
strictl}' limited to an}' particular age, the infant, cliild, 3'oung 
gui, and adult being alike susceptible to attack. 

Syiliptoms. — Ordinar}' quins}', of moderate severit}', 
generall}' begins with restlessness, irritabiht}', fever, some- 
times a slight cough, and more or less soreness or pricking 
sensation in the throat, especially when swallowing ; the 
older children complain of this pain and refuse all diet except 
di'inks and soft food, while the infant betraj's it by refusing 
to nurse, and wincing its face whenever swallowing is 
attempted. The face is flushed, respiration accelerated, 
voice thick, and speaking difficult or painful. The combined 
S}Tnptoms are ver}" similar to, and often mistaken for, inflam- 
mation of the lungs ; but upon placing j^our ear to the 
chest, 3'ou will readily mark the difference in the two 
diseases by the entire absence of all physical signs of pneu- 
monia. To examine the parts well, the head should be 
thi'own back, the mouth wideh' opened, and the root of the 
tongue depressed with the handle of a spoon. B}' this 
means the whole of the interior of the throat will be exposed 
to 'S'iew. 

In its severer forms it is quite a serious aff'ection, and if 
not at once attended to becomes dangerous. Relief cannot 
reasonably be looked for until the abscess bursts. (/S'ee 
Remedies JSfos. 57, 312.) 

Diet and Regimen. — The diet will have to be 
regulated according to the degree of inflammation. If 
extensive, the throat much swollen, and swallowing diffi- 
cult, solid food cannot be taken. Custards, panadas, gruel, 



262 Womaji's Medical Companion, 

light soups, are all that can possibl}^ be given. In no dis- 
ease, perhaps, is the beneficial effect of cold water more 
marked than in sore throat. When going to bed at night 
put a wet bandage around the throat, and cover it with a drj^ 
cloth. If the ]3atient is confined to the house, repeat the 
same thi'ough the day. If it does not jdeld to this treat- 
ment, and the abscess continues its progress, its ripening 
should be hastened by the external apphcation of warm 
flaxseed poultices and garghng the throat with warm water. 
When much pain is present, the inhalation of the vapor 
from boihng water wiU afford considerable rehef. All 
medicinal gargles, bhsters, leeches, mustard di^afts, and 
kindred remedies, are not only useless, but decidedly 
injurious. 

MAIilGWAlVT OR PUTRID SORE THROAT. 

This is usually a sjTuptom of mahgnant scarlet-fever, 
but is also an independent form of disease, generally 
occurring in damp, autumnal seasons, attacking childl-en 
of vitiated, impoverished, or delicate constitutions, weak- 
ened by some pre^dous diseases. It is also more apt to 
attack children living in low, damp, cold, mould}", or 
ill-ventilated dwellings. Under such circumstances, an 
ordinary sore throat is readily transformed into one of a 
malignant t3^pe. It is an exceedingly dangerous disease 
whenever and wherever it appears ; the treatment should 
therefore be prompt and energetic, and should never be 
attempted by any one but a medical practitioner. 

Symptoms. — This disorder commences with a chiU, 
fever, and languor, oppression at the chest, with or with- 
out vomiting, more or less inflammation of the throat and 
tonsils, an acrid discharge from mouth and nostrils, exco- 
riating all the parts with which it comes in contact, weak 



Infantile Affections. 263 

and rapid, almost imperceptible pulse, swollen throat and 
glands, face bloated, and general restlessness. Upon ex- 
amining the throat, numerous small, 3'ellowish ulcers, cov- 
ered with an ash^'-gTay crust, will be seen, the surrounding 
tissue being of a hvid or dark -red color. These ulcers are 
not confined to the throat and tonsils, but extend over the 
entii'e mucous membrane of the mouth, and even involve 
the windpipe. In severe cases the}' run together, and 
present a gangrenous appearance ; there is excessive pros- 
tration ; the teeth and tongue are covered with a black 
crust, similar to that of t3'phus-fever ; there' is more or less 
dehriiun ; the breath is fetid, countenance sunken ; vomit- 
ing and diarrhoea supervene, the pulse gTows feebler, cold 
and clammy sweats take the place of the previous harsh, 
dry skin, stupor sets in, and the patient dies. Should the 
disease ^ield to treatment, the s^^mptoms we have described 
gradually subside. (/S'ee Remedies Nos. 58, 309, 310, 311.) 
Diet and Regimen. — The first thing to be done 
is to place your patient in a dry, airy room ; plenty of 
fresh, pui-e aii' is the best adjuvant in the treatment of this 
or any other disease. The food, as a matter of course, 
will have to consist of rice, arrow -root, corn-starch, thin 
flour gruel, broths, and the like. When the mouth is very 
hot and dr}', it is ad^dsable to moisten it with a little warm 
milk and water. The mouth should be frequently washed 
out, and this must be done very gently, so as to produce 
no mitation. As a wash, warm water is the most desir- 
able. During convalescence, great care should be taken 
that the patient does not overload the stomach, as this 
would tend to produce a relapse, or at least excite some 
gastric derangements whereby recovery would be retarded. 



264 Woman's Medical Companion. 



TO:\SIIiI.ITIS, OR liVFIiAMMATIOJV OF THE TOiSfSIXiS. 

As we have already partially considered tonsillitis under 
the head of " Sore Throat," we will confine our remarks to 
chronic enlargement of the tonsils. You will frequently 
hear the ignorant speak of children having tonsils in their 
throat, as though all children, and adults, too, were not 
provided with them by nature. The tonsils are two rounded 
oblong bodies, placed between the arches of the palate. 
The use of these glands is to secrete a fluid which makes 
the passage to the stomach smooth and slipper}^, so that the 
food can be easily swallowed. Tonsillitis constitutes the 
enlargement of these glands from chronic or congenital 
inflammation, or an inflammatory condition arising from 
excessive nutrition. 

Symptoms. — The first indication is continued snoring, 
caused hj the pressm-e of the tonsils upon the palate, which 
partially closes the passage through the nose, the air being 
forcibly drawn through the narrowed opening. Deafness 
is another sj'mptom, and originates from the pressm-e of the 
elongated tonsils on the small canal leading from the throat 
to the internal ear, called the " Eustachian tube." But the 
most serious consequence is the effect it produces on the 
chest, the obstruction preventing the free entrance of air 
into the lungs. These organs are but imperfectl}^ developed, 
and produce the prominence of the breast-bone known as 
" pigeon-breast." 

Treatment. — The application of nitrate of silver 
and other caustics, or the cutting-out of the tonsils, is bar- 
barous and injurious in the extreme, for in the majorit}^ of 
cases such treatment induces lung-fever, consumption, and 
a thousand other aff'ections more or less calamitous and 
fatal. The treatment we have advised in quinsy will also 



Infantile Affections. 265 

be found beneficial in this disease. {See Remedies Nos. 
59, 243.) 

FAr.I.IIVG OF THE PAIiATE. 

Though so much has been said about this disease, it does 
not exist ; it is purely imaginaiy. The fact is, that some 
persons, after a shght cold or attack of indigestion, suffer 
from a trivial inflammation of the palate, which, from its 
thickened and elongated state, produces a sensation of 
looseness or descent. Cold water is very beneficial, used 
both internally and externally. All stimulating articles of 
diet, fancy or highly seasoned dishes, should be especially 
avoided. {See Bemedy No. 60.) 

DIPHTHERIA, OR DIPHTHERITE. 

This term is used to designate a specific and peculiar 
form of inflammation of the throat. Unlike ordinary in- 
flammations of these parts, it is attended with an exudation 
of false membrane upon the mucous surface, attended 
usuallj" with a low grade of fever, and is mainly confined to 
the thi'oat, tonsils, and nasal cavities. It is a constitu- 
tional, and by no means a new disease, for we read of its 
ravages in all parts of the world during more than 2,000 
3^ears. 

Causes. — Diphtheria is propagated by two causes: epi- 
demic influence, and contagion. Scrofulous children, those 
subject to glandular enlargements, catarrhal and croupous 
aflections, are usually first afi'ected when the disease rages 
as an epidemic. It generally spreads through the entire 
household where it once enters, affecting both adults and 
childi'en, those most closel}^ in communication being first 
attacked while those removed from the locality of the con- 
tagion at an early period escape. Children are the chief 
sufferers from this deadful affection. 



266 Woman's Medical Companion. 

There is a great diversit}' of opinion, even in the medical 
profession, both as to its origin and nature. But in the 
hght of critical investigation and practical experience it 
may be safely concluded that diphtheria arises from a 
specific poison taken into the system, which, acting 
through the blood, produces a ti'ue constitutional disease, 
exhibiting its local manifestations in the formation of false 
membrane upon mucous and abraded cutaneous smfaces, 
and becomes capable of transmission from one to another, 
without any recmTcnce to the original som-ce of poison. 
Such being the case, the instant one child in a famih^ is 
attacked, all the other children should be removed beyond 
the range of infection. 

Symi)toiiiS. — There is a strong resemblance in the 
S3Taptoms of scarlet-fever and diphtheria, so much so that, 
in regard to the eruption, it would seem to be a sort of cross 
between that of measles and scarlet-fever, while the other 
symptoms have a pecuhar similarit}' to scarlet-fever. But, 
for all that, it is an entkeh- distinct affection. It generally 
commences in the same manner as an ordinary' cold or influ- 
enza : slight chills and fever, general prostration and wear- 
iness, occasionalh' high fever and severe pain in the head, 
disordered stomach, and loss of appetite, etc. In the course 
of twentj^-fom* or forty-eight hom's there is a decided aggra- 
vation of the throat trouble, the glands about the neck becom- 
ing sensitive and swollen, with an increased flow of saliva or 
water into the mouth. In many instances the beginning of 
the disease is so insidious that its true nature would hardlj' 
be suspected were the patches of false membrane not seen in 
the throat. These patches var}' from the size of a split pea 
to half an inch in diameter. When the membrane becomes 
detached it leaves the surface beneath in appearance not 
unlike a piece of raw meat. There is stiffness of the neck, 
more or less fever, unbearable headache, the inflamed sur- 



Infantile Affections. 267 

face is bright and giass}^, or almost purplish, the breath 
is offensive, and there is great prostration. Under favorable 
circumstances, and with judicious treatment, convalescence 
majnisuall}^ be established in from eight to ten days, though 
it may be weeks or even months before the debihty and ner- 
vous depression is removed and the system restored to its 
natural elasticity and vigor. Hence the great danger of 
relapse^ which is too generally fatal. 

It frequently occurs that the patient is suddenly seized 
with rigors and vomiting of a thin, white, yellowish matter 
of a A'cry offensive nature, and purging of a similar fluid, 
followed b}'' prostration, stupor, and more or less violent 
dehrium. The membranous exudation increases to such an 
extent as to impede respiration and threaten strangulation, 
the countenance assumes a leaden hue, and the skin becomes 
cold and shrivelled. In a few hours, at this crisis, if the 
disease is not effectually arrested, the patient is beyond all 
hope of recover}^, and death closes the scene. If allowed 
to extend to the windpipe and bronchial tubes, it invariably 
proves fatal. The phj^sical appearance of the membrane is 
similar to that thrown out in true inflammatory croup, except 
that it is soft and is saturated with fluids. It is of a yellow- 
ish-white, gray, or light-brown color in the mouth and 
tonsils, looking lilve gray velvet or wet chamois, but of rather 
hghter color in the windpipe and bronchi. 



TREATMENT. 

In all cases of diphtheria, no matter how mild it may ap- 
pear, the patient should at once be placed under the care of 
a skilful physician. {See Remedies Nos. 61, 193, 194, 
195.) 

Diet and Reg'iinen, — The main feature in diph- 
theria being debihty, the most watchful care is necessary. 



268 Woman^s Medical Companio7i. 

In the first- or fever stage, stimulants would be Mghly 
injurious; but so soon as the prostration begins to show 
itself, a sustaining regimen and good nourishing diet, judi- 
ciously combined with stimulants, should be adopted. The 
amount of both stimulants and diet will, of course, depend 
entirely upon the nervous and general condition of the 
patient. In the majority of instances, beef-tea will be 
found most suitable to theii* requii'ements. It should be 
made palatable by seasoning, and be given by the spoonful 
every few minutes or half-hour. In cases of extreme 
prostration, it should be given by enema. Clam-broth, 
the soft parts of oysters, port wine, champagne, eggs 
beaten up, brandy in small quantities, are all of great ben- 
efit. As a beverage, when the patient is thirsty, barley- 
water, or toast-water, flavored with lemon-juice, or cold 
water, with raspberry or sti'awberry sirup added, will prove 
grateful. 



JJfAirSEA, VOMTTEVG, A]VI> REGTJRGITATIOrV OF MTLK. 

Owing to the imperfect development of the infant's 
stomach, this affection is common. It is usually a simple 
act of nature, ridding the stomach of any excess of food 
received by it. Older children also have these spells, but 
they are generally the consequences of visits to the apple- 
orchard, the candy-store, or some place for the sale of 
cheap and nasty " indigestibilities." This kind of vomiting 
always affords rehef and proves beneficial. Sometimes, 
however, vomiting arises from other causes, and instead 
of only a -portion^ the v:liole of the food is thrown up, 
accompanied by mucus and bile. This is, of course, far 
from salutary, and needs immediate attention. (>See Rem- 
edies Nos. 63, 331, 332, 333, 334.) 



Infantile Affections, 269 



BrLIOUSlVESS. 

This ailment is so vagnel}^ comprehended and generally 
misunderstood that considerably more permanent mischief 
is done by the remedy^ in a great many instances, than by 
the disease itself. If a child loses its appetite, has a cough, 
sickness at the stomach, dizziness, or headache, it is 
declared to be bilious, and is accordingly drenched with 
powerful emetics, until the whole digestive apparatus is 
temporaril}', if not permanently, injured. A more disgust- 
ing and injmious course of procedm^e cannot possibly be 
imagined in ordinary cases. There are instances, as in the 
ejection of any foreign substances from the stomach, in 
which the}^ are both useful and necessar}^, but these are, or 
rather ought to be, exce]3tions to the rule. 

Syiiil)toins . — The patient appears dull and languid ; 
headache, giddiness, great oppression, fulness at the pit of 
the stomach, nausea, vomiting, offensive belching, smelling 
lilve stale meat or rotten eggs ; the tongue is covered with 
a thick, slimy, j^ellowish coating ; there is a disagreeable, 
bitter, putrid, slimy taste in the mouth, especially in the 
morning ; the bowels are either constipated or quite loose ; 
passages dark, very offensive, and accompanied with much 
wind ; ej^es dull and heav}^, of a 3'ellowish cast, and the 
skin, particularly about the mouth and nose, of the same 
hue. (^See Remedy No. 64.) 

Diet and Regimen. — Meats and soup strictly for= 
bidden ; nothing but gruel, oatmeal cakes, dry toast, milk 
toast, crackers, plain bread, without butter, oranges, and 
cold water. Even lemon-juice should not be taken if 
diarrhoea is present. 



270 Woman's Medical Companion. 



OFFENSIVE BKEATH. 

This unpleasant affection arises from one of several 
causes : decayed teeth, inflammation or other disorder of 
the gums, ulcers in the mouth, or from want of careful 
attention to cleanliness, allowing particles of food to collect 
and remain between and around the roots of the teeth, or 
the accumulation of tartar. The correction of such matters 
belongs naturally to the dentist. The mouth and throat 
should be rinsed with cold water twice or thrice every day, 
and the teeth thoroughly brushed with a soft brush after 
every meal. When offensive breath arises from a deranged 
stomach or from other diseases, the proper treatment will 
be found under the head of such disorders. In other cases, 
where it is the chief symptom, and its origin can be traced 
to no apparent or perceptible cause, Eemedies Nos. 65, 
286, may be employed. 

WIBTD COI.IC, OR COI.IC OF IIVFAIVTS. 

All severe pains in the abdomen not dependent upon 
inflammation are called colic; when its principal s3Tnptoms 
are sharp and griping pains, it is called spasmodic colic; 
when accompanied with nausea and vomiting, it is called 
bilious colic; when the abdomen is distended, and relief is 
afforded by the passage of wind, it is called wind colic. 

Causes, — It arises from cold, sudden or violent emo- 
tion of the mother, improper food, or a confined state of the 
bowels. 

Symptoms. — Disturbed sleep, rolling of the eyes, 
distortion of the features, drawing up of the knees, abdo- 
men tense and swollen, with rumbling in the bowels. 
Severe attacks, unless speedily relieved, may end in spasms 
or convulsions. 



Infantile Affections, 271 

Treatment. — {See Remedies JSFos. 66, 293.) 
Most cases of colic are attended with constipation ; a free 
evacuation of the bowels often gives instant relief. It is 
imperative, therefore, that a movement should be effected 
as soon as possible. The most efficient way to obtain this 
is an injection of tepid water with a little salt mixed in it, 
continuing it until the desired effect is produced. Hot 
applications to the abdomen should alwa3^s be made 
use of. 

CHOIiERA MORBUS. 

This disease is characterized by great anxiety, painful 
and violent gripings, copious and frequent vomiting and 
purging, and coldness and cramps in the extremities. The 
gTiping pain evidently proceeds from violent spasmodic con- 
traction of the alimentary canal, causing the repeated 
and frequent ejection of its contents by vomiting and 
purging. 

Causes. — Intense heats of summer, especially when 
the da3's are hot and the evenings cool, with heavy dews, 
sudden atmospheric changes, cold drinks when the body is 
overheated, and the incautious use of ice, sudden suppres- 
sion of habitual discharges, diarrhoea, cutaneous eruptions, 
vexation, fits of anger, errors in diet, partaking of un- 
healthy food, or of an improper quality or quantity, unripe 
or indigestible fruits, particularly melons, cucumbers, pine- 
apples, green apples, or poisonous and irritating food of any 
kind. Large doses of cathartic drugs not unfrequently 
produce it. 

Symptoms. — The attacks are generally sudden, and 
without premonitory s3Tnptoms. The patient has vomiting 
and purging, severe griping pains inthe bowels and stomach, 
great anxiet}' and restlessness. The discharges from the 
bowels, at first fecal, soon become watery, bihous matter, 



272 WomarCs Medical Companion, 

each evacuation preceded and accompanied by violent burn= 
ing and cutting, colicky pains, especially in the region of 
the navel, extending in severe cases to the arms and hands, 
with pinched features, sunken eyes, cold and clammy skin, 
and general depression. The substance vomited is the con= 
tents of the stomach, largely mixed with bilious matter ; 
and afterward a watery fluid ; the gagging and retching is 
continuous. 

Treatment. — (Remedies Nos. 67, 162, 163, 164.) 



CHOIiERA IJVFAIVTUM, CATARRH OF THE IWTESTIlVESj 
OR SUMMER COMPI.AIWT. 



The chief seat of this affection is in the large and lower 
part of the small intestines, seldom extending to the 
stomach. In ordinary and mild cases, it is simple catarrh 
or irritation, arising from teething or Improper diet. It is 
seldom met with at any other time of year than June, July, 
and August. It is far more prevalent in cities and in 
northern and eastern climates than in country districts, or 
in southern and western territory, so that it is evident that 
heat alone will not produce it unless allied with close, 
unwholesome air, want of cleanliness, and neglect of sani- 
tary precautions. The most prolific causes, however, are, 
as we have said, teething and unsuitable diet. It is 
astonishing how reckless parents are in reference to the 
diet of their children ; overfeeding, unripe fruits, rich and 
luscious dishes, and indigestible, poisonous messes of all 
kinds are placed within their reach, and, consequently, the 
children are susceptible to its attacks at all times and sea- 
sons. In many cases there would seem to be an hereditary 
predisposition to the affection, especially in those families 
where the constitutions of the children are feeble and deli- 



Ltfantile Affections, 273 

cate, of a, nervous, irritable tendenc}^, or derive scrofulous 
or consumptive tendencies from their parents. 

Sj^ni^toins. — This disease is both sudden and grad- 
ual in its attacks. A child, apparently in good health, may 
be suddenl}' attacked with diarrhoea, vomiting, great 
exhaustion, anxious and contracted countenance, coldness 
and paleness of the skin, similar to the cholera of adults. 
Usually, however, the mode of attack is gradual, com- 
mencing with a diarrhoea, which soon proves obstinate and 
exhausting, nausea and vomiting, preceded by feverish 
restlessness. The mother la3^s it to the teeth, and calls the 
child cross when in reality it is sick. The dejections 
become more frequent and abundant than natural, spotted 
and streaked with green, looking like chopped-up greens or 
spinach, and mixed up with particles of undigested food. 
Occasionally they contain blood and mucus. Evacuations 
are accompanied with more or less pain, severe straining 
and bearing down. The frequency and severity of the 
vomiting depend upon the violence of the attack. The 
tongue is coated with a dirty white or yellowish-brown fur, 
the edges and tip being red. The thirst is intense. There 
is alwa^'s more or less fever of a remittent t3'pe, the abdo- 
men hot, distended, and tense, the head hot, and the extrem- 
ities cold. The emaciation is rapid, and if not speedily 
checked, the child soon has all the appearance of an aged 
person. The duration of the disease almost entirely depends 
upon the treatment, its course varying between six weeks 
and six months, though frequently the patient's fate is 
decided in twent3'-four to fortj^-eight hours. 
Treatment. — (Remedies Nos. G8, IGO, 161.) 
Diet and Regimen. — If the patient be an infant 
at the breast, and the mother has enough for it, no change 
should be made. If the child be older, the diet must 
depend entkely on circumstances. Overloading the stom- 



274 Woman's Medical Companion. 

acli should be especiall}' avoided, as that would endanger 
the child's life. The amount should be restricted to the 
smallest possible quantit3\ The motto should be, "Little 
and often." Fresh cow's milk should form the chief ingre- 
dient. It should be diluted with about one-third water, 
boiled for ten or fifteen minutes, and moderately sweet- 
ened with loaf-sugar. This may be alternated with rice- 
flour, arrow-root, sago, tapioca, or wheat-flour. In cases 
where there is excessive vomiting, a little gum-water or 
arrow-root or • rice-water ma}" be given until it ceases. 
Fresh air, in the countr}' or at the sea-side, is as important 
as good diet ; tepid or sponge baths, and a dress suited to 
the weather, and changed to suit the alterations in the 
temperature, care being taken not to clothe the child too 
warml}^ 

DYSPEPSIA, OB IIVDIGESTIOIV. 

The term Dj'spepsia means any condition of the stomach 
in which the function of digestion is disturbed or suspended, 
causing want of appetite, distention of the stomach, eruc- 
tations of various kinds, heartburn, water-brash, pain in 
the region of the stomach, uneasiness after eating, occa- 
sional vomiting, constipation or diarrhoea, with an endless 
string of nervous S3'mptoms. Indigestion may be, and 
doubtless is, simpl}' debility', a defect of muscular power 
in the stomach, or a want of vital power and strength. 

Indigestion, though not confined to any period of life, is 
most common between the ages of twenty and fort3'-five, 
and is more frequent in females than in males. The upper 
and middle classes are most subject to it. The predisposi- 
tion to it is sometimes hereditar}', particularly in persons of 
a weak, relaxed S3'stem, with highly nervous suscepti- 
bility and general debility of constitution. Sedentary oc- 



Infantile Affections, 275 

cnpations, indolence, long and intense stiid}^, insufficient 
exercise, breathing impure air, essentially" predispose to this 
complaint. Tiie principal exciting cause of indigestion is im- 
perfect mastication. The fact is, we, as a nation, have not 
time to cat ; business or pleasure is too pressing. From child- 
hood to old age we are in the habit of " bolting" our food, 
as if our teeth were in our stomach, and we could masticate 
it at our pleasure, like a cow. Children's stomachs are 
unable to digest solid lumps or tough masses of food, and 
whatever passes through them undissolved receives but little 
digestive aid from the stomach. Another very frequent 
cause of d3'spepsia in this country is the excessive use of 
cathartic medicines in the shape of pills. In addition to 
this, great quantities of bitters are used, which exhaust 
the powers of the stomach and produce numberless func- 
tional and structural derangements ; so that, were the truth 
to be told, the epitaph on tlie tombs of nine-tenths of our 
pill-takers would be : — 

I was well ; wished to be better ; took physic, and here I am. 

Indigestion in infants is frequently caused by the mi- 
health}' condition of the nurse's milk. In all cases, from 
the infant to the adult, the tongue is generally pale, flabb}', 
or slim}', dr}", or loaded with a thick coating, especially on 
rising in the morning. There is generally headache, lan- 
guor, and mental depression, nausea and vomiting, the last 
symptom usually affording relief. One form of pain is 
usually called heartburn. Another frequent symptom is 
cramps or spasms in the stomach, accompanied by belching 
and flatulence, which is occasioned by the generation of 
gases in the abdominal cavity. It is almost always allied to 
a sluggish state of the bowels. The evacuations are commonly 
dr}', scant}', and deficient in healthy color and odor. In 



276 Woman's Medical Companion. 

females, dyspepsia not unfrequentl}^ occasions difficult, too 
frequent, delayed, or irregular menstruation, leucorrhoea, 
chlorosis, hysteria, and painful affections of the spinal 
nerves, with tenderness and soreness of the back. 
Treatment. — (Remedies Nos. 69, 202, 203, 204.) 
Diet and Keg'iinen, — Good cooking is a matter of 
the first importance to the d3'speptic. They should avoid 
all cured, salt, smoked, or pickled meats, sausages, etc., 
raw vegetables, salads, cucumbers, pickles, etc. Fresh 
meats, poultr}', fruit, and well-cooked vegetables may be 
taken in moderation, if thoroughly masticated and par- 
taken of at regular hours. Leave off eating as soon as 3'ou 
are satisfied. At least six hours should elapse between 
each meal. There should be total abstinence from all 
astringent or alcoholic drinks. Pure spring water is the 
best possible drink. Ice-cold water is injuiious. 



COIVSTIPATION. 

In infants it usually arises from an improper mode of 
living on the part of nurse or child. Those fed on artificial 
diet are especially liable to it. In adults and older children 
it is the consequence of unsuitable diet, the use of stimu- 
lating and astringent drinks, too long indulgence in sleep, 
inattention to desire for evacuation, sedentary' habits, im- 
paired condition of the digestive function, and excessive 
use of aperient medicine. 

Symptoms. — The tongue is coated at the root and 
sides, tip red, urine high-colored, slow pulse, quicker after 
meals ; sallowness of countenance and skin ; more or less 
uneasiness and distention about the lower part of the 
abdomen, much flatulence, and alwaj's more or less head- 
ache. 



Infantile Affections. '^ll 

Tkeatment. — (>See Remedies Nos. 70, 179, 180, 181, 
182, 183.) 

Diet and Regimen. — The cure of constipation 
depends more on a proper mode of living than on medicine. 
Plent}' of out-door and manual exercise ; the avoidance of 
all food of a binding nature, as salt meats, cheese, wheaten 
flour in an}' shape, stimulating drinl^s, high-seasoned dishes ; 
a liberal allowance of all kinds of fruits and vegetables, 
soups, coarse bread, etc., a free use of cold water, and 
special attention to mastication. 

DTSEWTERT. 

This is sometimes called bloody flux, from the fact that 
the evacuations are scanty, mixed with blood and mucus, 
and but little fecal matter. It is essentially an inflamma- 
tion of the mucous lining of the large intestines, accom- 
panied by general constitutional disturbance. The mucous 
membrane is swollen, thickened, red, and softened, and in 
severe cases ulcerated. It is not, as many suppose, an 
aggravated form of diarrhoea, but the very reverse, nameh', 
constipation, with a constant desire to evacuate, caused by 
the inflammation. The inflamed and congested parts are 
tender and painful. It most frequently makes its appearance 
in the autumn, when the da^'s are hot and the evenings cool. 
It is generally epidemic, and may be excited by cold, 
exposure to wet, unripe or sour fruit, stale vegetables or 
meat, drinking cold water when heated, from taking 
cold, etc. 

Synii3toms. — In mild cases there is little or no fever ; 
in severe cases, high fever, hot, drj' skin, excessive thu'st, 
etc. It often begins with diarrhoea ; blood passes in con- 
siderable quantities, either black or of a dark reddish color, 
resembhng the washings of meat. There is severe pain and 



Im 



278 Womaiis Medical Companion. 

burning in the lower bowels, especially just before and after 
eacb evacuation, accompanied by a painful constriction of 
the anus, called tenesmus. Nausea, vomiting, and head- 
ache are frequently present. The disease is frequentl}' much 
aggravated by the administration of cathartics. 
Treatmext. — (^See Remedies JSfos. 72, 200, 201.) 
Diet and Regimeii. — Care should be specially 
taken that the patient should not be thinlj'clad, nor be allowed 
to sit on cold stone or brick seats. He ought to lie in 
or upon the bed during the attack. For food, water-toast, 
aiTOw-root, sago, gi'uels, and the like maybe taken, and, in 
convalescence, mutton-broth. The patient should eat little 
and often. Cold water, toast-water, or barlej'-water ma}" be 
drank. All kinds of animal food and wine should be 
strictly avoided, even during convalescence. The water- 
closets should be abundantl}" and frequently disinfected, to 
prevent the spread of the epidemic. 



PROIiAPSrS AIVI, OR FAI.I.IJVG OF THE BOI>T. 

This is a protrusion or faUing down of the lower part of the 
bowels, and though it may at fu'st cause much unnecessary 
alarm, there is reall}' nothing dangerous or serious about it. 
It is very co mm on in infanc}", and is frequently" met with 
at all periods of life. It arises from a laxity of the muscles, 
habitual costiveness, straining at stool, diarrhoea, hemor° 
rhoids, drastic purgatives, worms, and other causes. 

TREATME]VT. 

The first thing to be done is to replace the protruded mem- 
brane, which should be accomplished as speedih' as possible. 
If it does not return of its own accord, then, after protect- 
ing the protruded parts b}' lading over them a piece of soft. 



Infantile Affections. 279 

smooth cloth, wet with warm water or sweet-oil, embrace 
it with the ends of the lingers, and gently and steadily press 
it upward, not using a great deal of force, until it slips in, 
which it will do in a minute or two if the operation is rightly 
performed. If it has become red, swollen, or inflamed, do 
not be in a hum^ to reduce it, but place upon it rags 
saturated with a weak solution of arnica-water. As soon 
as the inflammation subsides, the bowel may be retiurned. 
When once returned, great care should be taken to prevent 
a repetition of the trouble. The child should be accustomed 
to use the chamber at . regular intervals ; and should be 
watched to prevent its overstraining while sitting, or remain- 
ing on it too long, particularly if the bowels are in any way 
constipated. Cold hip-baths or sponging with cold water, 
and sometimes cold-water injections, are of great service. 
The temperature of the water should be graduated accord- 
ing to the age and vigor of the child. {^See Remedy No. 73.) 
Diet. — The diet should be the same as that observed 
in derangements of the digestive organs in general. If 
possible the diet should be so governed as to prevent either 
constipation or diarrhoea. The child may be allowed as 
much cold water as it wants to diink. 



RUPTiJBE, OR HERNIA. 

By this we understand a swelling formed by the protru- 
sion or escape of a portion of the intestine from the cavity 
of the abdomen. The places at which these swellings 
generall}^ make their appearance are the navel and the 
region of the groin. The point of egress selected by the 
hernia gives it a peculiar name to express its position : as 
umbilical, when it appears at the umbilicus or navel ; 
inguinal, when it appears in the groin. Three descriptions 
of hernia only are especially met with in childi*en, namely. 



280 Woman's Medical Companion. 

umbilical, inguinal, and oblique inguinal. The latter 
variety' is where the intestines have intruded into the 
scrotum. 

Hernia is termed reducible when it can at any time be 
returned into the abdomen, and irreducible when it cannot 
be returned to the ca^it}" of the abdomen without inflamma- 
tion or obstruction to the passages of faeces, either OT^ingtb 
adhesions or entanglements of the intestines ; strangidated, 
when the protrusion is not onl}' incapable of being reduced, 
from consti'iction of the aperture thi'ough which it passed, 
but the circulation is arrested, the passages of faeces towards 
the anus cut off; inflammation sets in, the tumor becomes 
hard and tender to the touch, pain, nausea and vomiting 
occm-, accom]Danied by other alarming sjTnptoms. These 
Yarieties are frequent in children of all ages. 

Causes. — Children whose muscular development is not 
compact, but, on the contrar}^, relaxed and flabby, leading 
the natm-al outlets of the abdomen unusually large, or 
capable of easy enlargement, are more prone to accidents 
of this nature than those who are robust and strong. The 
weakest parts are those at which the accident most fre- 
quentl}' occurs. Crying, coughing, or straining, or great 
bodil}' exertion or external injury, ma}' produce hernia. 

Symptoms. — Umbihcal hernia need not be mistaken 
for an}' other tumor. Those appearing at the groin, how- 
ever, so closely resemble other diseases that mistakes 
may readily be made b}^ any one else but an experienced 
ph3'sician. It generally shows itself as an indolent tumor 
upon some part of the abdomen, such as tl^e navel or gi'oin. 
The tumor appears suddenly, is developed above, and 
descends gi'adualty. It is subject to changes in size, being 
smaller upon pressure, or when the patient lies upon his 
back, and larger when the pressure is removed, or when he 



Infantile Affections. 281 

stands upright. Vomiting, constipation, and colic are fre- 
quently the result of the unnatural position of the bowel. 



TREATMENT. 

In ever}^ case of hernia, no matter how slight or trivial 
it may appear, send at once for 3'our family physician, or 
some experienced practitioner, and ascertain from him its 
precise nature and probable termination. It is of the 
utmost importance that a cure should be effected during 
childhood, otherwise the individuals will, in after years, 
suffer great inconvenience, be unfitted for any kind of man- 
ual labor, and ma}^ any da}- be in danger of losing their lives. 
The hernia, or swelling, thus formed varies in size from a 
hazel-nut to a walnut, always increasing in size under the 
influence of coughing, straining, or sneezing. It is not 
often painful, unless it becomes very large. The parts 
should be bathed with cold water every night and morning, 
and the child be kept as tranquil as possible. Alarming 
s^Tuptoms sometimes accompany hernial protrusions, such 
as violent burning in the abdomen, as from a hot coal, with 
tenderness of the tumor, the least touch giving pain, sick- 
ness at the stomach, with bitter bilious vomiting, nervous- 
ness, and cold perspiration. (Remedies, Nos. 74, 229.) 



TTORMS. 

Many errors prevail in the popular mind regarding the 
natiu"e, origin, and consequences of the existence of these 
animalculse in the human organism. Worms were never 
yet the sole or originating cause, of any disease, either in 
the child or adult. That worms do exist in the alimentary 
canal of all children is an indisputable fact, but no experi- 
enced physician will assert that any particular disease is 



282 Woman's Medical Companion, 

caused b}^ worms. Beyond all doubt, they serve some useful 
and necessary purpose in the human economy. Worms, as 
such, are not injurious. They exist in many children with- 
out their presence being suspected. If they were the cause 
of disease, their mere expulsion would be sufficient to 
remove the s}Tnptoms attributed to their presence ; but no 
such beneficial results follow the administration of vermi- 
fuges, although numbers of worms are killed and expelled 
by their use. In treating these cases it must alwa^'s be 
borne in mind that it is not merely the worms you wish to 
remove, but that habit of body which favors thek accumu- 
lation in such quantities as we sometimes find them. You 
cannot possibly get rid of them entii'ely. There are five 
diff'erent species of worms which infest the alimentary canal, 
but two of these are pecuhar to childi^en. The first and 
most troublesome is the common seat-worm, ascaris vermi- 
cularis, thread-worm, pin-worm, or maw-worm, as it is 
variously called. This is the smallest of the intestinal 
worms, measuring only from two to five-twelfths of an inch, 
and resembling a small piece of white cotton thread. They 
are usually found in the large intestines and rectum, but 
sometimes crawl into the urethra and vagina, causing a 
troublesome itching and a mucous discharge. The next 
species of worms most frequently found in children is the 
long, round worm, called the ascaricles lumbricoides, which 
very much resembles the common earth-worm. The small 
intestines is their favorite locality, but they traverse all 
parts of the alimentar}" canal. They are sometimes found 
in the large intestines, from which they are expelled by 
stool. They are occasionally found in the stomach, and 
even in the throat. It is not uncommon for children to 
eject them by vomiting. The use of much sugar, fat, 
cheese, butter, fruit, or any other diet which enfeebles or 
disarranges the digestive s^-stem, strongly predisposes to 



Infantile Affections. 283 

tlieir production. Children of a IjTTaphatic or scrofulous 
constitution are more liable to them than others, and those 
living in dark, damp, and unclean dwellings, or in marshy 
regions, are specially prone to worm affections. 

Symptoms, — Sudden and frequent changes in the 
color of the face, red, pale, or lead-colored, bluish semi- 
cu'cles round the lower eyelid, dilatation of the pupils, itch- 
ing of the nostrils, bleeding at the nose, headache after 
meals, excessive flow of saliva in the mouth, dryness of the 
tongue, pains and enlargement of the abdomen, itching at 
the anus, abundant fetid stools ; in severe cases, convul- 
sions, delirium, epileptiform attacks, etc. 

Treatment. — (Remedies, Nos. 77, 336, 337, 338, 339, 
340.) 

Diet. — Avoid all gross, heavy nourishment, such as 
too much bread and butter, potatoes, or boiled vegetables 
of au}^ kind, rich puddings, pies, cakes, and pastry in gen- 
eral. Give the patient meat soups, roasted or broiled meat, 
plenty of cold water and mihi. Exercise in the open air is 
very essential. Cold water, ^dnegar and water, or lemon- 
juice and water injected, will allay the itching. 



EPIDEMIC CHOr^ERA. 

This is to a great extent a nervous disorder, and where 
dread and panic prevail, it will reap a rich harvest. Fear 
will at once cause the premonitory sj-mptoms. People 
should understand that cholera is a disease w^hich can gener- 
all}' be warded off if the}" but pay proper attention to known 
h^'gienic laws. It is neither difficult to manage nor is it 
dangerous, and, ordinarily speaking, is not contagious. The 
only necessary precaution is to avoid over-taxation, anxiety, 
long fasting, overeating, damp, ill -ventilated apartments, 
undue excitement, or exhausting employment, unwholesome 



284 Woman^s Medical Companion, 

food, and irregular or improper diet. It is the necessary 
accompaniment of filth, negligence, and the collection of 
noxious, decomposing material of any kind. 

Symptoms. — During cholera seasons diarrhoea has a 
special tendency to run on, if not checked, into the more 
perilous form of the disease, and nothing is more sure and 
certain to hasten that catastrophe than pm-gative medicines. 
As it has hitherto appeared in the United States it has 
always been preceded by a well-marked premonitory stage 
of from one to thi'ee da3V duration, such as confusion of the 
head, languor and debility, and derangement of the stomach. 
It may, however, seize upon the patient suddenly, instantly 
prostrating and dei3ri\-ing them of almost every element 
of vitality. A sunken and death-like expression of coun- 
tenance, feeble pulse, blue, cold, and shiivelled skin, covered 
with a clammy sweat, cramps thi'oughout the muscular 
sj'stem, with stupiditj' or extreme angnish, vomiting, and 
frequent rice-water discharges, may at once set in. 

TREATMENT. 

Perfect quiet and maintaining a recumbent position are 
absolutely necessary. Have immediate recourse to Reme- 
dies 78, 162, 163, 164. 

Diet and Kegimen. — As soon as the disease has 
spent its violence, and the patient beghis to mend, he 
should have a little gruel, toast-bread, meat-broth, etc., 
frequently, and in small quantities, gradually increasing 
the diet, both in qualitj' and quantity, until he finall}' gets 
back to the accustomed mode of living. 

HEMORRHOFDS, OR PILES. 

Women, both single and married, are very often subject 
to piles, and more especially during the period of preg- 



Lifantile Affections. 285 

nancy. Many have supposed this disorder to originate 
from obstructed circulation, but the fact seems to be that 
the most frequent cause which operates in its production is 
habitual constipation of the bowels, a common affection 
among females of all classes. If this is avoided in the wa}' 
we have pointed out in the article on Constipation, much 
suffering and inconvenience will be prevented ; but if it is 
permitted to exist, and temporary' relief only sought by an 
occasional cathartic, the disease will become chronic, and 
possibly remain throughout the remainder of the patient's 
hfe. The inexperienced can scarce!}' imagine the amount 
of suffering some females undergo from- piles ; and the 
pain is constant, day in and day out. Various external 
apphcations have been devised for their removal ; even 
the knife has been resorted to. Against all these we 
would warn 3'ou, as they are not only exceedingly' painful, 
but, during pregnancy especiallj', highly dangerous. It is 
very important that a pregnant woman, and especiall}' if it 
be her first pregnancy, should pdy strict attention to the 
state of her bowels, not allowing either constipation or 
diarrhoea to set in, as early attention to either of these 
derangements will cause their prompt removal. 

TREATMEIVT. 

Remedies Nos. 20, 225, 226, 227, 228. In addition to 
the internal administration of remedies, much benefit ma}' 
be obtained from a proper use of cold water. When the 
piles do not bleed, cold applications, either as sitz-baths, 
compresses, or injections, are of great benefit. As evil 
results sometimes follow the sudden sui^pression of the dis- 
charge, it is not ad^'isable to use cold water where there is 
much if any bleeding. When, however, the bleeding is 
profuse to such an extent as to cause alarm, cold applica- 



286 Woman's Medical Co77ipanioii. 

tions are the best st3'ptic. Warm water or steam is prefer- 
able when the tmnors do bleed, or when, from any cause, 
the bleeding has ceased, and there is considerable pain. 
When, after each evacuation, the bowels, or a small tumor, 
protrude, causing great pain, relief ma^^ be obtained by 
genth' pressing them up again with the ball of the finger. 
Injections of cold water, when judiciously administered, are 
of the greatest value ; but more harm than good is so often 
done from the carelessness of introducing the syringe, that 
I seldom recommend them. 

Diet. — As the use of condiments and stimulants of 
every description tends to produce gastric and intestinal 
derangements, it is advisable that, in this disease, they be 
dispensed with, and the patient confine herself strictly to 
the hygienic miles of diet. Meat diet should be avoided as 
much as possible ; some physicians even recommend their 
patients sufi'ering from this complaint to eat nothing for a 
few days except bread and water. 



Diseases of the Skin. 287 



CHAPTEE XL 

DISEASES OF THE SKIN. 

SCARI.ET-FEVER, OR SCARILATIIVA. 

Considerable mj^stification exists in the minds of many 
about this complaint, imagining that scarlatina is a modi- 
fied form of the disease. But the fact is that they are one 
and the same ; it is epidemic, contagious, and febrile in 
character, and distinguished by a peculiar rash, which ap- 
pears upon the first or second day, and by inflammation of 
the tonsils and mucous membrane of the mouth. The two 
most important and striking features are the affection of 
the throat and the skin ; and yet either may be entirely 
absent, or so imperfectly marked as to attract but little at- 
tention. It is almost exclusively a disease of childhood, and 
seldom attacks the same individual more than once in a 
lifetime. It is less prevalent than measles, with which it 
is frequently confounded ; afi'ects both sexes equally, and 
usuall}' appears between the ages of one and five. In the 
majority of cases scarlet-fever is contracted from the 
epidemic constitution of the atmosphere, and not by direct 
communication with other individuals or their clotliing. 

Scarlet-fever commences, like all eruptive diseases, with 
shivering and lassitude, severe headache, and occasionally 
delirium, nausea, and vomiting. It is generall}^ sudden in 
its onset, the child going to bed apparently in its usual 
health, but awaking with these premonitory symptoms, the 
eruption showing itself in the course of a few hours over 



288 Woman's Medical Companion. 

face, shoulders, neck, and breast, and extending rapidly 

over the entire surface of the body. It first appears in j 

dark-red points, speedily becoming so numerous as to pre- | 

sent a universal red blush. It is not usually diffused i 

equall}" over every part of the bod}', but is more apparent ' 

about the groins, the back, and the flexures of the joints ! 

than elsewhere. On the arms and legs the eruption does \ 
not present the same appearance as on the trunk ; instead 
of being a uniform smooth redness, it is more spotty and 
rough. In most cases the fever is attended with a bm-n- 

ing iiTitation of the skin. The redness disappears under I 
slight pressure of the finger, and returns when the pressure 

is removed. The eruption reaches its height about the "\ 

fourth da}", remains stationary for about twenty-four hours, j 

after which it begins to decline and become indistinct, and i 

usually disappears altogether about the seventh or eighth I 

day. At this time the skin begins to peel off. In some \ 

mild cases the whole duration of the eruptive period is 1 

not more than two or three days, the skin presenting but a j 

slight blush, and there being but little heat or fever. Sore j 

throat is always present ; scarcely perceptible, perhaps, I 
but, on closer inspection, inflammatory action is plainly 

visible. The fever does not subside on the disappearance i 

of the eruption ; the pulse is strong and frequent, running ' 

up to 120 or even 160. The tonsils are swollen and red, ^ 

and the glands of the neck are tumefied and tender to the [: 

touch. The appearance of the tongue is also peculiar. At " 

the commencement it is covered with a thick, cream-like ) 
fur, the edges and tip sometimes being of a deep-red color 

After the first two or three days the tongue clears off and be- li 

comes preternaturally red and rough, looking hke raw ': 
flesh. 



Diseases of the Skin. 289 



DIFFEREiVCE BETTVEEIV SCARIiET-FEVEB AlVD 
MEASIiES. 

Possibly scarlet-fever and measles may be confounded by 
those unfamiliar with eruptive diseases. The distinguishing 
marks between the two diseases, therefore, are : — 

First. The eruption of measles is always preceded by 
catarrhal symptoms, such as coughing, sneezing, and run- 
ning from the nose, while scarlet-fever is not. 

Second. Scarlet-fever is alwa^'s accompanied by sore 
throat ; measles is not. 

Tliird. The rash of scarlet-fever appears on the second 
day ; that of measles, at least in its regular form, not until 
the fourth. Generall}-, the eruption of scarlet-fever is 
smooth and even to the touch, and of a uniform scarlet 
color ; in measles, on the contrarj^, the eruption consists of 
minute httle pimples, which are felt to be slightly elevated, 
and firm to the touch ; besides, the eruption is not continu- 
ous, but cut up in little clusters by portions of health}^ skin. 
In measles, the eruption is of a raspberry hue ; in scarlet- 
fever, it resembles that of a boiled lobster. 

Scarlet-fever in anj^ form is of too critical a character to be 
treated by any but a medical ^Dractitioner, for it not unfre- 
quently happens that for one or two days the case may promise 
to be mild, but suddenly, and without any ascertainable cause, 
it may assume the threatening features of the worst form 
of the disease. The consequences of scarlet-fever are fre- 
quentl}^ worse than the disease itself. Children who have 
suffered from it are hable to fall into a state of permanent 
ill-health, and become a prey to some of the chronic forms 
of scrofula, boils, ulcers, diseases of the scalp, sores behind 
the ears, scrofulous swelling of the glands of the neck, 
chronic inflammation of the eyes and ej^ehds, etc. The 



290 Woman's Medical Companion, 

same results sometimes follow measles and other eiTiptive 
diseases. 

One of the most frequent and important sequels of this 
disease is dropsy. This dropsical effusion attacks the struct- 
ure or tissue just beneath the skin, or any of the ca^dties 
of the bod}^ When it affects the head, dropsy or water 
on the brain is the result. When the chest becomes the 
seat of the effusion, we have water on the chest. It is 
generally the result of cold caught during convalescence. 
At this time the child needs the most watchful care and 
attendance, and at no stage of the disease is the patient 
more apt to be neglected. The mother, thinking the child 
almost well, leaves it to the care of a friend, or older 
children, while she goes out, and they, not understanding 
the necessity of great caution, permit it to stand by an 
open window or door, or allow the fire to go out or the 
room to become chilled. The patient, from this exposure, 
takes cold, becomes drooping, languid, irritable, peevish, 
and restless, after which swelling about the face soon makes 
its appearance, at first so slight as to be scarcely percepti- 
ble. From the face it extends to the hands and feet, and 
finall}' to the whole surface of the body. The patient should 
never be allowed the free range of the house until at least 
four weeks have elapsed from the commencement of the 
disease. 

MAIilGIVAiVT SCARIiET-FEVER. 

Scarlet-fever does not always present itself in as mild a 
form as we have described. In mahgnant and severe cases, 
the eruption, if it appears at all, is livid, partial, and fades 
early, is attended with feeble pulse, cold skin, and by t}^- 
phoid depression ; sometimes the patient sinks at once, and 
irretrievably, under the virulence of the poison. Or, where 
the patient survives the first shock, as the disease pro- 



Diseases of the Skin. 291 

gi-esses, a condition of the throat develops itself which 
frequently baffles the skill of the physician, and soon 
de strop's the life of the patient. 

TREATMENT. 

The great fear in this disease, as in many others, is that 
the child will be too much " doctored." Simple scarlet-fever 
is fatal only thi'ough the officious and unnecessary administra- 
tion of drugs. Hygiene, carefulness in sanitar}" regulation, 
and unceasing watchfulness are the chief elements necessary 
to recover3\ Cathartics are totally out of place. When the 
skin begins to peel off, a few doses of sulphur will place the 
patient out of reach of danger. The irritation of the skin 
ma}^ be allayed by bathing the child in a weak solution of 
saleratus, or the application of an ointment composed of one 
drachm of gh^cerine and one ounce of ointment of rose-water. 
The application of cold-water bandages lo the throat will 
usually be found efficient in preventing dropsical affusion. 
Great benefit ma}^ be derived from the judicious use of 
water, either in the shape of baths or ordinary ablutions. 
(Remedies, Nos. 79, 236, 237, 238.) 

Diet and Kegimen. — During the height of the fever 
the patient seldom cares for anything to eat. When the 
mouth is dry and parched, small quantities of thin rice-gruel, 
or gruel made of arrow-root, may be administered ; or, if 
preferred, rice-water, toast and water, or cold water, fl.i- 
vored b}' raspberry or strawberr}^ syrup. Warm drinks 
should not be allowed, unless especially craved, and then 
only sparingly. When the teeth and lips become covered 
with crusts or scabs, they should be carefully cleansed with 
tepid milk and water. Great care should be taken to keep 
the mouth as clean as possible, and this can only be done 
by constant attention. The return to a nourishing diet 



292 Womaji's Medical Companion. 

should be very gi^adiial, as overtaxing the digestive organs 
might be productive of the most serious consequences. 

The room in which a scarlet-fever patient is confined 
should be as large and any as possible, well ventilated, but 
never fumigated. The bed should be kept sweet and clean ; 
clothes, bandages, in fact, ever}i:hing about the patient, 
should be removed as soon as done with. Of course, great 
care should be taken to guard the i^atient from cold. A 
room can be kept thoroughly ventilated without exposing 
the patient. ! 

SCARL^ET-RASH. i 

This, though frequently mistaken for, is quite a different 
disease from, scarlet-fever. Scarlet-rash consists of small 
gi'anular elevations, easilj' felt on passing the finger over 
the skin. The eruption is of a dark-red color, sometimes i 
almost pm'ple ; the pressm-e of the finger leaves no white i 
imprint, as in scarlet-fever, and there is seldom much, or j 
indeed any, sore throat. Scarlet-rash may easily be con- 
founded with measles, as the eruption in the two diseases 
is very similar. This malad}' is most common in summer 
and autumn, though it does occur at all seasons of the 3'ear. 
It attacks children of all ages. It is not a contagious dis- 
ease, and is occasioned by gastric derangement, sudden 
atmospheric changes, violent exercises, the use of cold 
diinks while heated, and by checked perspii'ation. 

The eruption is generally preceded by chilhness, alter-" 
nating with heat, accompanied by loss of strength, heavi- 
ness and fulness of the head, restlessness, sometimes with 
vertigo, severe pain in the head, and even mild delirium. I 
There is for the first few daj's, in connection with the above '' 
symptoms, more or less fever, heat and diyness of the skin, 1 
loss of appetite, and perhaps some gastric derangement. *, 
After these S3miptoms have continued for an indefinite length ■■- 



Diseases of the Skiit. 293 

of time, the rasli appears, sometimes upon the third or fom'th 
da}', and in its regularit}' and appearance nearly resembles 
measles. There is, however, this difference between the 
two : measles is attended b}' catarrhal s3Tnptoms, has a defi- 
nite time and special succession of localities for the appear- 
ance of the eruption ; whereas scarlet-rash is not accompa- 
nied b}' catarrhal sj'mptoms, and the eruption is irregular in 
its appearance, or occurs suddenl}^ over the whole body. It 
cannot be mistaken for scarlet -fever, because it is not con- 
tagious, is not accompanied b}^ sore throat, and is composed 
of irregular circular patches of a deep rose -red color. 
(Remedies, Kos. 80, 236, 237, 238.) 

MEASLES — RUBEOXiA. 

This disease is characterized by inflammatory fever, ca- 
tarrhal symptoms, hoarseness, dry cough, sneezing, drowsi- 
ness, and an eruption. The eruption generally appears on 
the fourth da}', in the shape of small red dots, like flea- 
bites, which, as they multiply, unite together into irregular 
circles or horseshoe shapes, leaving the intermediate por- 
tions of skin of their natm'al color. These red points are 
slightly elevated, and can readily be felt b}^ passing the hand 
over the sm-face. The causes of measles are epidemic influ- 
ences and contagion by personal contact. The particular 
period of the disease in which its infectious power is most 
potent has not yet been clearly ascertained. The average 
period of incubation, or time required to develop the disease 
after exposure, is from seven to twenty days. It occurs but 
once to the same j)erson. 

As a general rule, the first s^inptoms complained of are 
lassitude, uTitabilit}', aching in the back and limbs, and 
shivering, which is soon followed b}' fever, thu'st, and head- 
ache, irritation of the mucous membrane of the e^'es, nose, 



294 Woman^s Medical Companion. 

mouth, and laiynx. The premonitory spnptoms are those 
of a severe cold in the head : the ej'es are bloodshot, the 
ejehds heav}", turgid, and red, excessive sneezing, watering 
of the eyes, copious defluxion from the nose, soreness of 
the throat, and a dr}^, hoarse, peculiar cough, arising from 
the iiTitation and inflammation of the mucous membrane 
hning the throat and nasal passage. This first stage lasts 
generally about three days ; upon the fourth day, seldom 
earlier, frequenth' later, the eruption makes its appearance ; 
the rash is two or three days in coming out, beginning upon 
the chin, cheeks, or some other portion of the face, and 
extending to the neck, arms, and trunk of the bod}', and 
finall}' to the lower extremities. This stage lasts from twenty- 
four to fortj^-eight hours. The fever does not diminish when 
the eruption makes its appearance. All the sjmaptoms are 
at their height, but the moment the eruption passes its high- 
est point of intensity, the whole of the sjTiiptoms gradually 
subside. After the eruption has passed away, the parts 
which it recently occupied are left covered with a dry, small 
scurf, and small bran-lLls:e scales. The skin does not peel off 
in large flakes, as it sometimes does in scarlet-fever, but it 
crumbles away like dust or fine powder. This stage of des- 
quamation, as it is called, is more indefinite in its duration 
than those which precede it ; but, as a general thing, it lasts 
six or seven days, and during this period the patient ought 
to receive as much care as when the disease was at its 
height. There are, however, frequent exceptions to this 
com'se, which we will now notice. 

The severity of the measles does not depend upon the 
amount of eruption ; the early and plentiful appearance of 
the rash is, in itself, no sign that the disease will be more 
severe or dangerous ; on the contrary-, the worst cases are 
those where the eruption is but partial, does not come out 
well, appears late, or irregular. In what is called the " black 



Diseases of the Skin. 295 

measles," the eruption comes oiitslowl}^ and imperfectl}^, and 
is of a livid, purplish, Or even blackish color. This is a very 
dangerous form of the disease ; the patient may die early 
from exhaustion or congestion of the brain or lungs. A 
retrocession of the eruption is very apt to be followed by 
unpleasant, if not alarming, sj^mptoms. 

Sometimes measles are complicated with gastric derange- 
ments ; in such cases the tongue will be found coated ; there 
is some nausea, and, perhaps, sickness at the stomach ; the 
eruption does not stand out as prominent as it should, and 
the healthy portions of the skin between patches of erup- 
tion have a 3'ellowish tinge. Perhaps the most frequent 
and important complication of measles is inflammation of the 
lungs. Inflammation of the bowels is also a frequent compli- 
cation. 

Treatment. — In ordinary cases, aconite is the onty 
remedy caUed for ; the uncomplicated forms of the disease 
need scarcely any other treatment than a strict attention to 
hygiene. In all cases, no matter how mild, the patient 
should be confined in a large, well-ventilated room. In 
most cases, the patient is quite wilhng to lie on his bed 
during the first part of the disease ; but as soon as the erup- 
tion begins to disappear and the fever subside, he will want 
to be dressed ; and, when once dressed, he will think it 
strange that he cannot go out, especiall}" if he feels quite 
well ; however, he should not leave the room, and certainl}^ 
not the house, until he has regained his accustomed health- 
ful look. It has alwa3's been the custom to shut a measles 
patient in a hot room, and allow him nothing but hot drinks. 
This is a most pernicious habit, and has no doubt led to a 
great man}^ serious and even fatal results. The patient 
should never be allowed liot drinks, and especially those 
which are recommended to throw out the eruption. If he 
is thu'sty, give him cold icater, as much as he wants. It is 



296 Wommt^s Medical Companion. 

the most palatable, and b}" far the best drink jou can pro- 
cure. I have seen the happiest results brought about by its 
free use. In those cases where the eruption is backward 
in coming out, give the patient a glass of cold water and 
cover him up warm in bed. This is especially advisable 
where the fever is violent and the heat of the skin very 
great. (Remedies Nos. 81, 267, 268, 269, 270.) 

The diet during the febrile stage should be very light. 
The patient usually will ask for but little, but that little 
should consist of thin wheat or rice flour gruel, barley-water, 
toast-water, milk and water, tapioca, crackers soaked in 
water, or some similar food. When the fever begins to 
abate, the allowance may be increased to plain or toast 
bread, bread-pudding, or some light broth, either animal or 
vegetable, and even a small quantity of chicken or beefsteak 
once a day until the strength is regained, when the usual 
diet can be resumed. By observing these rules strictly all 
trouble will be avoided. 

Disorders consequent upon measles are frequentl}' even 
more dangerous than the primary affection. Running at the 
ears, inflammation and swelling of the glands, especially 
about the neck, are apt to occur. This is frequently the case 
in scrofulous children. 



WETTXiE-RASH, HIVES, UltTICABIA. 

This disease, called by each of these names, is a non- 
contagious eruptive disease, characterized by little, hard 
elevations upon the skin, of uncertain size and shape, and 
generally- of a red color with a whitish tinge. Sometimes 
there is little or no redness, and the elevated parts are even 
paler than the surface around them ; more frequentl}', how- 
ever, the elevated spots are partly red and partl}^ white. 
The eruption, on making its appearance, is attended with 



Diseases of the Skin, 297 

intense heat, tingling and itching, a sensation much like 
that produced b}' the sting of the nettle, from which it takes 
its name. 

Causes. — Some people have a constitutional predispo- 
sition to this disease, and the slightest error in diet, or the 
most trivial functional derangement of the digestive appa- 
ratus, is sufficient to bring on an attack. Children possess^ 
ing a fine, delicate skin are particularly predisposed to 
attacks of hives ; in such, slight gastric afiection, a warm 
da}', excessive clothing, dentition, or almost an}^ little dis- 
turbance, will 2)roduce it. 

Syiiil)toins. — As a general thing the disorder in 
children manifests itself without any premonitory S3^mp- 
toms. The eruption is attended with heat, burning and 
itching, the blotches continuall}^ changing from one position 
to another, or disappearing in a few hours on one part and 
appearing on another. The most frequent form of the dis- 
ease which we meet with in small children consists in large 
inflamed blotches, of an irregular shape, being either round 
or oblong, appearing suddenly, and preceded by very 
slight, if an}', constitutional S3'mptoms. The blotches are of 
a bright red color, excepting the slightly elevated centre, 
which Is white. The form of the disease is not dangerous, 
but verj' annoj-ing, and occasions great irritability and cry- 
ing. The eruption most commonly makes its appearance 
about the face, the upper part of the arms, thighs, and 
buttocks. 

In some cases, especially with older children, the eruption 
is preceded b}' headache, bitter taste in the mouth, coated 
tongue, nausea, vomiting, and fever. This is particularly 
the case in that form of the rash which is induced by' errors 
in diet and exposure to cold. Another form of the disease 
which is preceded for a few hours or a few da3's by feverish- 
ness, headache, nausea, chilliness, and languor, is where the 



298 Woman's Medical Co^npanion, 

blotches become reddish and sohd elevations, either round 
or oblong, often called wheals. They resemble as much as 
an^^thing the ridges caused by the stroke of a whiplash. 
This eruption, like the other forms, is attended with violent 
itching and burning. During the attack the patient is 
usually more or less feverish, and suffers from headache, 
languor, loss of appetite, and other signs of gastric de- 
rangement. 

TREATMENT. 

Aconite, internally, and myro-petroleum alburn^ externally, 
in the form of a soap, will be found especially valuable and 
effectual in subduing it and accomplishing a thorough cure of 
this and all other skin diseases. Every effort should be made 
to promote perspiration by covering the patient well and 
giving him plenty of cold water to drink. The same diet 
and regimen should be adopted as for measles. (Remedies 
Nos. 82, 236, 237, 238.) 



ERYSIPEI.AS, OR ST. A]\THO:XY'lS FIRE. 

Er3'sipelas is a non-contagious disease, characterized by 
a deep, red rash, or superficial inflammation of the skin, 
which has the peculiaritj^ of spreading from place to place, 
the part first attacked recovering while the neighboring 
parts are becoming affected. Erysipelas is rarely experi- 
enced during childhood. The few cases that I have seen 
arose indirectly from vacchiation, the vaccine virus and the 
local irritation produced b}' it bringing into activit}' a dis- 
ease the seeds of which already existed in the system. 
- The causes of er^'sipelas are obscure ; slight points of 
irritation upon the skin may form a nucleus from which the 
er3'sipelatous inflammation ma}'- spread, but these certainly 
cannot be the real cause. There must be a general epidemic 



Diseases of the Skin. 299 

constitution of the air at times, in certain localities or dis- 
tricts, Avhicli predisposes to the disease, or else there is an 
hereditar}' taint in the S3'stem. 

Symptoms. — Generall}^ there are but few, if any, 
marked premonitory constitutional symptoms, the appear- 
ance of the eruption being the first indication of the disease, 
after which we soon have fever, heat, dr3mess of the skin, 
and thirst. The inflamed surface is at first of a bright red 
and shining appearance, but it soon assumes a purplish hue ; 
and as this change takes place, the parts become tense, hard 
to the touch, and more or less swollen and painful. The 
color disappears under pressure of the finger, but returns as 
soon as the pressure is removed. When the inflammation 
once begins, if not soon arrested there is no knowing where 
it will end. AATien it starts upon the face, it may extend to 
the scalp and cover its whole surface ; or when commencing 
upon the arm, it ma}^ extend down to the fingers or up to 
the shoulder, and from there over the whole trunk of the 
bod3^ For this disease, it is always best, when possible, to 
consult a good, skilful phj^sician. 

TrvEAT^iiENT.— Eemedies Nos. 83, 206, 207, 208, 209. 

Diet and Kegimen. — The same as for any other 
febrile disease, measles, or scarlet fever. To allay the itch- 
ing, which is sometimes intolerable, dust the parts over 
with powdered starch, or, which is better, wash with a solu- 
tion of mjTO-petroleum soap. Wet or greasy applications 
of ever}" description should be specially avoided, as they 
alioays aggravate the disease. 



ITCH, PSORA, OR SCABIES. 

This is a contagious eruptive disease, characterized by 
more or less numerous distinct pointed Axsicles, transparent 
at the summit, and filled with a viscid, serous fluid, while, 



300 Woman's Medical Companion. 

from the base of each vesicle small red lines usually run off. 
It is comparativel}^ rare in America, though it is prevalent 
among the i^oorer classes in Europe ; and is contracted onh^ 
by actual contact. It is generally the result of want of 
cleanliness. These little vesicles which rise upon the skin 
are caused by the presence of a small insect called ' ' acarus 
scabsei." The zigzag track which the mite makes in burrow- 
ing beneath the scarf-skin to deposit its eggs can readil}' be 
seen, but not so the mite itself, for it is very small, and only 
discoverable b}^ a powerful microscope. 

As a general thing the eruption first appears upon the 
wrists and between the fingers, and extends more or less 
rapidly over the whole bod}', except the face. It is fre- 
quentl}", however, confined to the hands, fingers, and 
the joints. The number of these vesicles is variable ; in 
some cases they are very abundant, while in others the}^ are 
few, and confined to the flexures of the joints. At first 
they are of a pinkish color, and contain a drop of stick}^ 
transparent serum ; these soon becomes broken bj'' the clothes 
or fingers, or burst spontaneously, and form their scabs. 
The disease is alwa3's attended by severe itching, the most 
prominent and distressing feature of the affection. It is 
most troublesome at night, being increased by the warmth 
of the bedclothes. 



TBEATMEHTT. 

Sulphur ointment, or, what is much better, parafllne soap 
in solution, well rubbed into the skin before a fire, night 
and morning, for two days, will eradicate the disease. 
During this treatment, the jDatient should wear a flannel 
gown and keep his bed. On the third daj^ the skin should 
be washed off with soap and water. Should the first at- 
tempt not succeed in removing the trouble, repeat it. The 



Diseases of the Skin. 301 

disease scarce!}' requires any constitutional treatment. 
(Remedies Nos. 84, 247, 248, 249, 250.) 



ITCHIIVG OF THE SKIIV. 

Simple itching of the skin is scarcely a disease of itself, 
but rather a S3'mptom of some disease ; and, indefinite 
though it is, it ma}' direct us in the selection of a remedy 
for the morbid condition which gives rise to the irritation. 
For itching produced b}' mosquito bites, camphor is a spe= 
cific, applied externally. (Remedies Nos. 85, 247, 248, 
249, 250.) 

HERPES, OR TETTER; ZOSTER, OR SHIBTGLiES ; CIB= 
CliVATUS, OB BIIVGWORM. 

Herpes is a contagious, non-eruptive disease, characterized 
b}' an assemblage of numerous little vesicles or watery 
pimples in clusters. These patches are surrounded b}' more 
or less inflammation, or rather the A^esicles are situated on an 
inflamed sm-face, and are separated from each other by 
portions of perfectl}' healthy skin. The fluid in each vesicle, 
at first transparent and colorless, soon becomes millv}^ and 
opaque, and in the course of eight or ten daj's is entirely 
absorbed, or concretes into furfuraceous, bran-like scales. 
The most common varieties among children are shingles and 
ringworm. 

The causes of skin diseases are obscure and uncertain ; 
but decidedl}' the most frequent and appreciable are want 
of cleanliness, disturbance of the digestive function, bilious 
disorders, sudden transitions of temperature, suppressed 
perspiration, irregularity in diet, and local irritants. 

The characteristic feature of ringworm is the peculiar 
arrangement of the vesicles in small circular rings. The 
first indication of its presence is the more or less vivid red- 



302 Woman's Medical Companion. 

ness of the skin at the point affected » This inflammation is 
rapidly filled in with vesicles. The circular patches vary 
considerabl}^ in size, from that of a ten-cent piece to two or 
three inches in diameter. "WTien small, the whole surface 
of the patch is inflamed, the centre being of a lighter shade 
than the circumference. ^Tien larger the circumference 
alone is red, the centre retaining the natural color of the 
skin. These eruptive patches or rings may appear upon 
any part of the bod}', but are most frequent upon the upper 
extremities and neck. 

Slling'les is an uncommon variety of the disease, the 
eruption appearing in the form of a half-zone or belt sur- 
rounding the body. Old ladies will tell 3'ou that if the two 
ends of this belt should meet, that is, extend clear round 
the body, the child will die ; but as this never happens, it 
need not alarm you. The most frequent seat of shingles is 
at the waist, the belt seldom extending more than half-way 
around the body. It is preceded b}' constitutional symp- 
toms, more or less severe, such as languor, loss of appetite, 
rigors, headache, sickness, and fever. The local s^Tuptoms 
are pungent and burning pain at the points where the 
eruption makes its appearance. It is variable in duration, 
is an acute disease, and seldom lasts over eight or ten daj's. 
Sometimes the rings appear, and in a short time fade away, 
onl}' to reappear in some other part of the body ; and thus, by 
the formation of successive rings or patches, the disease is 
continued for three or four weeks. 



TREAT^IEIVT. 

Ringworm usually j'ields readily to the action of sepia, 
and, even in the scA'crest cases, will succmnb to the admin- 
istration of some of the preparations of refined petroleum. 
The only external application called for is a solution of the 



Diseases of the Skin. 303 

remedy which j^ou are gi^^ng internally. (Remedies Nos. 
^^, 248, 249, 250, 251.) 

Diet and Regimen. — As the complaint often arises 
from gastric derangement, particular care should be taken 
as to the patient's diet. Avoid all highly-seasoned food, all 
rich dishes, all irritating substances ; in a word, place the 
child upon a plain, farinaceous diet. The skin should be 
kept perfectly clean ; avoid all irritating or scented soaps, 
and be careful to have the clothes so adjusted that they will 
not rub and irritate the eruptive patches. 



PRICKI.T HEAT. 

During the heat of summer, adults, infants and 3'oung 
children are frequently much annoyed with an eruption con- 
sisting of small papulae, or pimples, few of them being larger 
than a pin's head, scattered more or less thickly over the af- 
fected surface. The pimples are about the size of a pin's 
head, and are of a red color, more or less bright, according to 
the intensity of the eruption. As a general thing, the skin 
between the papulae retains its natural appearance. The 
eruption is most abundant on those parts covered by the 
dress ; its development is undoubtedly favored b}^ warm 
rooms and excess of clothing. It will usuall}' be found 
more copious about the neck, the upper part of the chest, 
and on the arms and legs. More or less fever usually 
accompanies the affection, and the intolerable itching of the 
parts causes much fretfulness and a desii'e to scratch. In 
the infant, there is considerable restlessness, worrying, and 
distm-bance of the sleep. 

TREATMEIVT. 

In most cases, scarceh' an}' treatment is called for. The 
eruption is rather beneficial than otherwise, so far as the 



304 Woman^s Medical Companion. 

health is concerned. It is a veiy bad practice to apply 
an3^thing having a tendenc}^ to repel it ; it is only when the 
heat and itching is intolerable, that any attention should be 
paid to it, and even then nothing beyond a coohng and 
cleansing wash or lotion should be apphed. Great comfort 
and benefit will be obtained by frequent bathing. Sponging 
the child off two or three times a day with bran- water, 
shppery-elm water, or other mucilaginous water, will often 
allay the irritation and afford considerable reUef. (Reme- 
dies Nos. 87, 247, 248, 249, 250.) 



STROPHrUTiUS— BED GTJM, WHITE GIJM:, TOOTH-RASH. 

These eruptions are most common during dentition. 
The}^ are caused b}' disturbances of the digestive apparatus, 
are never attended with danger ; and as they are about the 
only pwijoly eruption to which young infants are subject, 
there is no difficulty in distinguishing them. Bed Gum. — 
The papulae or pimples in this variety rise sensibly above 
the level of the skin, are of a vivid red color, and scattered 
here and there over different parts of the body, but more 
generally over the cheeks, forearms, and back of the hands. 
Red gum occurs chiefly within the first two months of lacta- 
tion. The eruption remains on the skin for one or two 
weeks, the pimples disappearing and reappearing in suc- 
cessive crops. It usually terminates in the peehng off of 
the skin. White Gum runs the same course, only differing 
in the color of the pimples. Tooth-rash. — In this variety, 
the pimples are much smaller, more numerous, and set more 
closel}" together than in the others ; their color is not so 
vivid, but thej' are generall}^ more prominent, and constitute 
a more severe disorder. The eruption appearing generally 
during dentition, has, for this reason, been called "tooth- 
rash." 



Diseases of the Skin. 305 



TREAT3IEIVT. 

As a general rule, it is hardl}" worth while to prescribe 
for either of these complaints. A gentle aperient is all that 
is needed. -Cleanliness and attention to the di^ess is the 
chief necessity in all such affections. (Nos. 88, 247, 248.) 



CHICKEN-POX. 

Chicken-pox, or Varicella, as it is technically called, is a 
contagious, eruptive disease, febrile, and characterized 
b}^ more or less numerous transparent vesicles or little 
bladders, which appear first as a small red dot, and gradu- 
all}^ change into a bladder about the size of a small pea, 
containing a watery or millty fluid. Chicken-pox was at 
one time considered a modification or variety of small-pox, 
but experience has proved that it is not in the remotest 
degree related to varioloid or small-pox. It is propagated 
b}' contagion, and by epidemic influences. 

Symptoms. — The constitutional s3^mptoms are only 
trifling. The preliminary indications are chills followed by 
heat, hurried pulse, loss of appetite, nausea, and sometimes 
vomiting ; after which the eruption makes its appearance, 
but without that regularity which marks variola. It is 
first observed upon the back or face more frequently than 
on other parts of the bod}^, though it ma}^ appear on any 
part. The eruption appears in the form of small red 
pimples, which, in the course of a few hours, show small 
transparent vesicles in their centre. About the second day 
the}^ change into globular bladders, the size of a small pea, 
filled with a transparent orange-colored or colorless fluid. 
Generall}' the}' are not numerous, and all scattered over the 
bod}'. Sometimes we find them crowded together, even 
running into each other. On the fourth day they begin to 



306 Woman's Medical Companion. 

shrink and tuiui into a thin, brownish, horny scurf, which 
falls off in two or three days, leading onh' a faint red spot 
behind, which soon disappears. The eruption is usually 
accompanied b}^ a sensation of heat and itching, which is 
the occasion of a great deal of uneasiness. The child rubs 
and scratches those vesicles that are within reach, thereby 
breaking and preventing them from running the regular 
course above described. 

TREATMEiVT. 

Unless complicated, this disease requires but little treat- 
ment beyond attention to diet and the avoidance of cold \ 
during couA'alescence. Poor people let their children, dur- , 
ing the whole course of the disease, run about the streets the 
same as ever, and they recover. The diet and regimen , 
should be the same as in measles. (Remedies Nos. 89, | 
185.) I 

VARIOIiA AjVI> VARIOtOIB. 

Small-pox is an epidemic and contagious eruptive febrile 
disease, characterized by an initial fever, which, upon the | 
thii'd or fourth da}', is followed by an eruption of red | 
pimples. In the course of two or three days these pimples i 
are gradual!}' changed into small vesicles, which contain a 
di'op of transparent fluid. From the fourth to the sixth 
daj^ these again change into pustules, for the suppurative 
process now commences, converting the serum or trans- 
parent fluid contained in these vesicles into pus or matter, 
after which the pustules (hy up and are converted into 
scabs, which fall ofl" between the fifteenth and twentieth 
day. 

Owing to the attention now everj^where given to vaccina- 
tion, small-pox is comparatively a rare disease in children 



Diseases of the Skin, 307 

belonging to the upper and middle classes of societ}^ ; but 
as, among the careless and the poorer clases, vaccination is 
sometimes neglected, the disease will occasionall}" break 
out, and one case is enough to alarm the whole neighbor- 
hood. It is as well that all should understand its nature and 
appropriate treatment. The principal cause of the disease 
is contagion^ the propagation by epidemic influence being a 
matter of very considerable doubt. At what particular 
. period of its course the disease acquires its power of infec- 
tion has not been precisel}' ascertained ; and as it is alwa^'s 
best to err, if err we must, on the safe side, it is advisable to 
avoid the patient and his house from the moment the real 
nature of the disease becomes apparent. The period of 
incubation, after exposure to the disease, before the first 
s^'mptoms manifest themselves, varies from nine to twelve 
or fourteen da^'s. Like scarlet-fever, one attack protects 
the constitution, in the majority of cases, against subse- 
quent contagion. 

Symptoms and Treatment. — The disease has 
been divided into four stages, which we will proceed to 
describe, and give the treatment appropriate to each as we 
go along. The^?'s^ or febrile stage commences, as we have 
said, from nine to twelve or fourteen daj's after exposure to 
the contagion. The patient first complains of pains in the 
bones and loins, similar to, and indeed often mistaken for, 
those of a common cold, or he may be taken with a more 
or less severe chill, accompanied with headache and fever, 
dry, hot skin, and great thu'st. Nausea and vomiting often 
exist from the beginning of the attack ; there are at the 
same time loss of appetite, oppression in the stomach, and 
constipation, more or less obstinate ; tongue red and dr}'. 
The principal s}TQptom during this stage of the disease is 
the pain in the loins, which, though varying much in degree, 
is always severe. In some cases, the head s^TQptoms are 



308 WomarCs Medical Companion. 

especially marked, consisting of restlessness and irritabilitj" ; 
light hurts the e^'es ; there is swimming in the head ; the 
mind wanders ; the patient is flight}^, and occasional!}' there 
are convulsions. These S3anptoms continue up to the time 
the eruption makes its appearance, which is usually in from 
fortj'-eight to seventy-two hours. {See Remedies Nos. 90, 
302, 303, 304, 305.) 

Second or eruptive stage, — Some time in the course of 
the third day, after the patient is first stricken with fever, 
the eruption begins to make its appearance in the shape of 
small red pimples, of the size of pin-heads ; as the eruption j 
comes out, the fever subsides. This pimply eruption first j 
shows itself upon the face, and then extends to the i 
neck, trunk, and hmbs. This stage of the disease lasts ) 
about three daj^s, during which time the papulae or pirn- I 
pies gradually increase in size, and are changed into i 
vesicles, or little pouches, filled with a transparent fluid. ' 
At the same time the eruption appears upon the skin we j 
have something corresponding to it affecting the mucous j 
membrane of the mouth, throat, and nose. Sometimes } 
there is severe inflammation of the throat, with tenderness ii 
and swelling of the glands about the neck. J 

Third or suppurative stage. — At this stage, the eruption 
changes from vesicular to pustular — the fluid changes from 
serum to pus or matter. This change takes place from the 
fourth to the sixth day of the eruption, or the eighth or j 
ninth day of the disease. During this stage the pustule 
completes its development, the pock becoming distended, 
and as large as a split bean. During the filling up of the 
pock the face swells, often to such a degree that the e3^es j 
are completely closed. As the eruption occupies about 
three days in coming out, those pustules which appeared 
first upon the face are quite in advance of those which 
appeared last upon the extremities. In fact, while those upon 



Diseases of tJie Skin. 309 

the face are in the third stage, those upon the breast are 
only in the second stage, and those upon the extremities are 
in the first, or just making their appearance. "Witliout tliis 
division of the burden, the disease certainly would be 
unbearable. The treatment adapted to this disease depends 
gi'eatl}' upon the condition of the patient at the time of its 
arrival. If there are no alarming symptoms, if the fever 
which is reproduced during this time is not severe, if the 
color of the skin between the pustules is not of a livid hue, 
the remedies which have already been given to the patient 
ma}' be continued. 

Fourth^ or stage of desquamation. — This is the stage 
of decline. At about the eighth day of the eruption, a 
small dark spot makes its appearance on the top of each 
distended pustule. At this point the pock bursts, a portion 
of the matter oozes out, and the pustule dries up into a 
scab. This, however, is not always the case ; sometimes 
the dark point formed upon the apex extends itself until the 
whole pustule is converted into a hard crust. The forma- 
tion of crusts begins upon the face, and extends thence to 
the trunk and extremities. When, at length, these crusts fall 
off, the appearance of the skin beneath is peculiar : there is 
left a purplish-red stain, which gradually fades awa}-, or 
else, in severe cases, where there has been true ulceration 
of the skin beneath, there is a depressed scar, or, as it is 
said, the patient is " pitted." Desquamation, or the falling 
off of the crusts, does not reach the limbs until about three 
or four da3's after it has commenced on the face. 

The above description refers only to the regular and 
favorable course of the disease ; where the pustules are not 
so numerous as to run together, it is called the distinct, in 
contradistinction to the conjluent, or that severe form 
where the pustules are numerous, come in contact, and, 
running together, form one immense scab, covering the 



310 Woina7i's Medical Coinpanio7t. 

Tvhole surface, the latter being necessarily more severe and 
danojerous than the former. The treatment for this stas^e is 
very simple, scarcely anything is called for except cleanli- 
ness. Simple ablution with tepid water will generally be 
all that is requked. At the beginning of this stage it is as 
well to give an occasional dose of sulphui'. 

Diet and Regimen. — The room in which the 
patient is confined should be as large and any as possible ; 
it should be kept at a moderate temperature, well ventilated, 
and almost dark. A straw-bed or mattress is preferable to a 
feather-bed. The diet should be cooling, such, for instance, 
as water, ice-cream, lemonade, oranges, roasted apples, 
stewed prunes, strawberries, gi'uel, toast, etc. Avoid the 
fruits and acids if diarrhoea should be present. Animal 
food should not be used until conyalescence is pretty well 
established. 

VABIOI^OrD. 

This is simply a modified form of small-pox. The treat- 
ment which has been given for that answers equally well for 
this disease. 

VACCEVATIOW. 

As a preventive against small-pox, vaccination is favorably 
known, and practised by all ci^-ilized nations. Many per- 
sons object to vaccination, for fear that b}' this means some 
other disease ma}' be introduced into the s^^stem. To avoid 
this, seek the aid of a physician whose integiit}^ and ability 
are above suspicion. Vaccination, and reA^accination from 
time to time, are considered b}" every physician as an 
imperative dut}', and the only safeguard against the en- 
croachment of one of the most loathsome and fearful of all 
diseases. 



Diseases of the Skin, 311 



INTERTRIGO, EXCORIATIOWrS. 

B}^ " Intertrigo " is understood those superJScial sores, ex- 
.coriations, or gallings which sometimes appear behind the 
ears, between the thighs, in the folds of the neck, or other 
parts of the bod}" where the skin folds back upon itself. 
This troublesome disorder, as a general rule, is peculiar to 
fat children. It is said to be caused by the mother or nurse 
indulging in highty-seasoned or acrid food, particularly pork. 
Fat children are particularly predisposed to the disease, 
but, without doubt, an3'thing which irritates the skin will 
act as an exciting cause : a want of cleanliness, or the con- 
trar}^, too frequent washing, especially with coarse soap ; 
acrid perspiration, especially when combined with some of 
the various " baby-powders " sold by druggists, materially 
aid in the development of and even cause the disease, from 
the fact that l^^copoclium, and other vegetable productions 
haling chemical properties, form the chief ingredient of 
these powders. (Remedy No. 91.) 



PIMPI.ES ON THE FACE, ACIVE, PUIVCTATA, COMEDONES. 

"We not unfrequently find upon the faces of children and 
young persons, small, black-headed pimples, from which, 
b}" pressing upon their sides, we can squeeze out a small, 
vermiform or worm-like cylinder, about one-tenth of an 
inch in length. The disease received the name of come- 
dones from the fact that they were for a long time believed 
to be small insects ; investigation has proved, however, that 
the white cylinder which we squeeze out is nothing more 
nor less than an accumulation of fatty matter in the follicles 
of the skin, and the black head is caused b}^ the dust which 
adheres to it. The causes of comedones are anything which 
obstructs the excretory ducts of the cutaneous follicles, or. 



312 Woman's Medical Companion, 

indeed, the secretion of itself ma}' be of a morbid charac- 
ter, which is frequentl}' the case in persons with a torpid 
skin ; the contents of the oil tubes become too thick and 
&XJ to escape in the usual manner. The obstructed and 
distended tube sometimes inflames, even suppm^ates, and 
the pimples become ver}' sore. (Remedies Xos. 92, 289.) 



ABSCESSES. 

B}' the term ' ' abscess " is understood what, in popular 
language, is called a " gathering." A collection of pus, or 
matter, in an}' part of the bod}', resulting from inflamma- 
tion, which may be either acute or chi'onic. Abscesses are 
of various kinds ; we shall confine om' present consideration 
to those lymphatic tumors and superficial gatherings, such 
as we so often meet with in children, especially about the 
head and neck. 

An abscess is not an original disease, but always the 
result or termination of inflammatory action. Inflammation 
and suppuration of the cervical glands of the neck are fre- 
quently concomitants of other diseases. Scald-head, scarlet 
fever, measles, and many other diseases are frequently 
followed by glandular inflammation, which terminates in the 
formation of pus — true abscesses. There is about some 
children an hereditary dyscrasia or constitutional taint, — 
scrofula, or some kindred diseases for instance, — which pre- 
disposes to the disorder. 

Syixij)toiilS . — Acute abscesses are preceded and ac- 
companied by sensible and inflammatory action in the 
affected part ; it is hot, tumefied, throbbing, and painful. 
The commencement of the suppurative process, that is, 
when the formation of matter takes place, is to be known, 
or at least suspected, by the change in the character of the 
pain which takes place at this time, and by the appearance 



Diseases of the Skin. 313 

of the skin. The pain, which has previously been acute, 
loses its intensit}', becomes dull and throbbing, the skin 
changes from a red to a livid color. The tumor presents 
a somewhat conical shape ; and the skin over its apex be- 
comes thin and of a dark livid color. At this point, if left 
alone, the abscess will burst, and allow its contents to es- 
cajDe. In abscesses of any magnitude, during the suppura- 
tive process, we have usually more or less definitely marked 
rigors and chills, succeeded in turn by increase of fever. 
After an abscess is fully formed, provided it is not too 
deeply seated, fluctuation in the tumor is always perceptible. 
Chronxc Abscesses. — Although all abscesses are 
the result of inflammation, the inflammatory action in chronic 
abscesses is sometimes of so low a grade as to be almost 
imperceptible ; indeed, during the first stage of the disease, 
it is entirel}^ so, and were it not for the swelling, which 
always becomes apparent before it reaches any great mag- 
nitude, we would scarcely know that an}- thing ailed the 
child. The entire absence of all local and constitutional 
symptoms renders the disease obscure, until it begins to 
approach the surface and form an external swelling. An 
acute abscess readily heals, as soon as the pus is freely 
evacuated. Not so with a chronic abscess : the latter, 
instead of contracting and filling up with healthy granula- 
tions, that is, portions of new flesh, remains open and dis- 
charges copiousl}^ of thin, acrid matter ; and this state, if 
continued any great length of time, results in the production 
of hectic fever ; or, in other words, the patient goes into a 
decUne. 

TREATMEIVT. 

As abscesses do not always end in suppuration, but 
sometimes in resolution, — that is, the inflammation and 
sweUing subside without the formation of pus, the tumor 



314 Woman's Medical Companion. 

not gathering, — it is not always advisable to apph' poultices, 
as this may cause it to gather, when it otherwise would not. 
Should a swelling appear an3'where upon the surface of the 
bodj^, which we apprehend may terminate in an abscess, our 
first endeavor should be to cut short the inflammation before 
it reaches the point of suppuration. This can best be done 
\)j the external application of cold-water bandages and the 
internal administration of Remedy' 93. This treatment is 
especially recommended when there is considerable consti- 
tutional distm'bance, with intense pain and extensive in- 
flammation of the parts. Should this treatment fail to 
arrest the disease, the next best thing to be done is to hasten 
suppuration, or bring the abscess " to a head " b}" the exter- 
nal application of hot fomentations and gi^ound flaxseed 
poultices. As soon as the abscess points or comes to a 
head, the skin becoming livid and thin, and there is distiuct 
fluctuation, it is advisable to make a free incision into the 
tumor, and evacuate the matter. The sooner it is discharged 
the sooner will the abscess heal. I see nothing gained by 
waiting ; it is but prolonging the patient's suffering and 
retarding the cure. After the abscess has been opened, and 
the matter freely discharged, the poultices should be dis- 
continued and simple dressing substituted.- (Remed}^ Xo. 
93.) 

Diet. — In acute abscesses, where there is considerable 
fever, the diet should be about the same as in fevers. During 
the long and tedious course of some exhausting chronic 
abscesses, it will be found necessary to select such a diet as 
will nourish and strengthen the patient. The food should 
be nutritious and of easy digestion. Broiled steak, mutton- ' 
chop, meat broths, rice and barley gruel, etc.,* may be 
allowed. 



Diseases of the Skin. 315 



BOILS. 

A boil consists of a round, cone-shaped, inflammatorj^, and 
very painful swelling immediateh' under the skin. It varies 
in size from a pin's head to a pigeon's Qgg. It alwaj^s has 
a central "core," as it is called, and is mostly found in 
strong and A'igorous children. A boil alwaj'S suppurates, 
and sooner or later discharges its contents, the matter being 
at first mixed with blood, and afterwards composed of ]3us. 
A boil never discharges freel}^ and never heals until the 
core comes awa}". The causes of these annoying excres- 
cences are certainly impurit}', fermentation, and impoverish- 
ment of the blood ; the treatment is similar to that prescribed 
for abscesses. Appl}" a poultice early, and bring the tumor 
to a head as soon as possible. After the matter has been 
discharged, wash the parts clean, and dress with lint and 
simple salve. The lint should be placed ne.r^ to the sore, 
and the salve over the lint. To eradicate the predisposition 
to boils, a dose of sulphur, twice a week, will be found 
very efficacious. (Remedy' Xo. 94.) 



SCAI.I>-HEA1>, Ti:VEA CAPITIS, FATTJS. 

Tinea capitis is a contagious eruptive disease of the 
scalp. It is characterized at first by small 3'ellow pustules, 
situated on an inflamed ground. The pustules are of a 
peculiar shape, depressed in the centre, and scarcely raised 
above the level of the skin. Each pustule, as a general 
thing, surrounds a hair. Probabl}^, the whole disease con- 
sists in an inflammation of the hair follicles. The disease 
is comparatively rare in America, much more so than ring- 
worm of the scalp or millv-crust. Among the upper or 
middle classes of society it is seldom, if ever, met with. I 
have not seen more than two cases in this cit}-" (Boston) , 



316 Woman's Medical Companion. 

except in dispensaiy practice. There is ver}' little doubt 
but that this disease is contagious, aud ma}' be propagated 
b}' dii-ect contact of a diseased with a healthy skin, or by 
means of combs, brushes, towels, etc. Although chiefly 
found in children, it is by no means exclusivel}' confined to 
them. Children living in low, damp, and iU- ventilated 
dwellings, and those subjected to an unwholesome or an 
insufficient diet, are most prone to it. The featui'e which 
distinguishes this disease from other eruptions of the scalp 
is the pecuhar shape of the scabs or crusts. Commencing 
as a small yellow pustule, scarcely raised above the level 
of the skin, it gi-adually increases to perhaps an inch in 
cu'cumfereuce. As it spreads, the watery portions of the 
pustule dry up, leading a large j^ellow crust with inverted 
edges and a depressed centre. This cup-formed yellow crust, 
pierced hy a hair, is peculiar to this disease, and distinguishes 
it from aU other erui^tions of the scalp. At first, when the 
pustules are small, the}' are usually isolated ; but as they 
increase in diameter, their edges come in contact, and thus a 
number of pustules, blended together, form UTCgular patches 
of larger or smaller size, ^hen the crusts have been re- 
moved, the surface beneath is seen to be red and moist, 
having the appearance of ulceration. By no other eruptive 
disease of the scalp with which I am acquainted is there a 
permanent loss of hair. In this disease the hair falls out, 
and the scalp is left shining and uneven. The hair seldom, 
if ever, reappears ; if it does, it is short, wooU}', and un- 
healthy. 

TREATMENT. 

Until 3'ou can secm-e the services of a good phj^sician, fol- 
low the treatment given for " milk-crust." The first essen- 
tial step is to remove the hau\ This may be sufficiently 
well done with a sharp pair of scissors ; shaving the head is 



Diseases of the Skin, 317 

scarcely practicable. No attempt whatever should be made 
to remove the crusts. Strict attention should be paid to 
cleanliness. A good and soothing wash for the head is 
bran-water. (Remedies Nos. 95, 186, 247, 248, 251.) 



CRTJSTA liACTEA, MIIiK-CKTJST, IMPETIGO. 

This is almost exclusivel}^ a disease of infancy. It is 
characterized by an eruption of small, round, yellow, flat- 
tened pustules, which are crowded together upon a red sur- 
face. The pustules end by the drying up of their contents 
into thick, rough, and j'ellow scabs. The eruption may 
appear upon the forehead, cheeks, or scalp, the latter place 
being the more frequent seat of the disease. Like most 
other varieties of infantile eruptive diseases, the real cause 
is ver}" imperfectl}- understood. Many suppose the cutting 
of the teeth to be the cause. Others ascribe it to unhealthy 
h3'g'ienic conditions, as, for instance, improper or unwhole- 
some food, want of cleanliness, damp or ill- ventilated apart- 
ments. Not a few think it arises from some constitutional 
taint existing within the child, as scrofula, or some kindred 
disease, and that it more frequentty manifests itself in fair, 
fat chikben. My own opinion is, that children so affected 
possess a constitutional tendency to the disease, and that 
the exciting cause, in nine cases out of ten, is some gastric 
derangement. 

Symptoms. — In some cases the eruption is confined 
entirely to the face ; in others, entirely to the scalp ; or, 
again, it may implicate both, extending up the side of the 
face, affecting the ear, neck, and portions of the scalp. The 
disease ma}' be either acute or chronic in its nature. When 
acute, it is not unfrequentl}' attended with severe inflamma- 
tion of the skin. It appears in all grades of severity ; in 
some cases it is very light, extending over a small surface, 



318 Woman's Medical Companioii. 

remaining stationaiy, or quickly drying np and disappear- 
ing ; or, when severe, the whole scalp ma}' become com- 
pletely scabbed over, x^resenting an offensive and disgusting 
appearance. As a general thing it attacks but a small spot 
at first, and then gi'adually spreads to the surrounding parts. 
"Wlien the}' first appear the pustules are numerous, small in 
size, of a light yellowish or straw color, and not unfre- 
quently attended with severe burning or itching. These 
soon break or get broken, and discharge a sticky fluid, 
which glues the hair together, and forms into thick uneven 
crusts. The successive discharges from the surface beneath, 
constantl}' add to the thickness of the crust, and as the 
fluid escapes from under the crusts, it irritates or inoculates 
the i^arts with which it comes into contact, and thus extends 
the disease until, in some cases, the whole scalp is covered 
with a thick, rough, brownish-yellow crust. . In warm 
weather, or from the warmth of the head and exposure to 
the ah', these crusts sometimes undergo partial decomposi- 
tion, and exhale a sickening and most ofl'ensive odor. "When 
the crusts are removed, the sm^face beneath is found inflamed 
and wet, the secretion which oozes from them plainh' A'isi 
ble ; little excoriated points soon form new crusts similar to 
the one that has been removed. The disease, as it appears 
about the face, passes through about the same course as 
when appearing upon the scalp, except that the large crusts 
are seldom allowed to form. The severe itching attending 
the disease causes the child constantly to scratch or rub the 
part, sometimes to such an extent as not onty to prevent 
the scabs from forming, but to cause the surface to bleed 
quite freel}'. In most cases the general health of the pa- 
tient remains good ; sometimes, when the inflammation and 
itching are severe, it makes the child cross and peevish, dis- 
turbs its sleep, and makes it feverish. The glands situated 
upon the neck, and especially behind the ears, not unfre- 



Diseases of the Skift, 319 

quently inflame, become hard and painful, and finally gather 
and break. The duration of the disease depends upon the 
severity of the case, and the treatment which is instituted 
for its removal. Some cases 3ield in a few weeks ; others, 
more stubborn, ma}- continue for months, and, if improperly 
treated, even for 3-ears. The whole course of the disease 
ma}' not be of the same severity ; it not imfrequently sub- 
sides to such an extent that the mother is already congratu- 
lating herself upon the speedy return of her child's health, 
when a fit of indigestion, the cutting of a new tooth, or 
even some change in the weather, may bring it back with 
renewed violence. 

TREATMEJVT. 

I frequently meet with children who have had the disease 
for months, their parents refusing to do anything for its re- 
moval, under the impression that the attempt to cure it 
would be attended with serious risk to the health, and even 
the life of the patient. Now, the idea that the disease is 
useful, and beneficial to the future health of the child, is 
preposterous. -Perhaps it originated from the fact that a 
sudden suppression of the disease, by active, external means, 
has been followed by dangerous and even fatal symptoms. 
But then it should be remembered that suppressing is not 
curing a disease. I believe it to be unsafe to procure, by 
the employment of external means, the suppression of any 
eruptive diseases. We are all aware that alarming and dan- 
gerous symptoms frequently follow the " striking in," as it 
is called, of measles and scarlet-fever. Every physician 
can call to mind cases of acute disease of, the brain, result- 
ing from the sudden drying-up of this very disease by the 
application of some one of the numerous specific ointments. 
This is a literal " striking-in " of the disease, or a transla- 
tion from the scalp to the brain. The idea that the disease 



320 Womaji^s Medical Companion, 

is in any Tray beneficial to the health of the child, cannot be 
entertained by an}" one who has had much acquaintance with 
the suffering it produces. The dreadful itching induces 
restlessness, crjing, and sleeplessness ; in fact, it keeps the 
infant in a constant state of actual suffering, which cannot 
continue for months or years without seriously injuiing the 
constitution of the child. I consider it, therefore, an en- 
thel}' mistaken act of kindness which permits the disease to 
continue a single da}" without an endeavor to arrest it, under 
the impression that the child is thereby being permanently 
benefited. Active treatment should be instituted as soon as 
the first symptom of the disease is observed. Apply nothing 
externally but a little glycerine. Keep the head clean by 
washing with weak soapsuds of Castile soap. (Kemedies 
Nos. 96, 185, 186.) 



Diseases of the Brahi aiid Nervous System. 321 



CHAPTEE XII. 

DISEASES OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS 
SYSTEM. 

liSTFLiAMMATIOIV OF THE BRAIIV. 

Inflammation of the brain itself is called encephalitis; 
inflammation of the membranes which invest the brain is 
called meningitis. Inflammation of the brain and of its 
investing membranes has no fixed uniform train of s^^mp- 
toms b}' which it declares itself ; perhaps the most common 
and striking phenomenon is a sudden and long-continued 
attack of general convulsions. Still, convulsions, espe- 
cially in children, frequently arise from various other causes ; 
for instance, from teething, from overloading the stomach, 
or from worms. The attack may come on with but slight 
pain in the head, with vomiting and impatience to light. 
More commonl}^, however, there are severe pains over the 
entire head, throbbing of the arteries of the neck and 
temi^les, fits of shivering, vertigo, sleeplessness or restless 
sleep, disturbed dreams, unsteady gait, quick pulse. In 
those cases which are occasioned by blows or falls upon the 
head, the patient may recover entirely from the shock and 
external wound, if there be one, and remain for a certain 
period, to all appearances, perfectly well. But, after some 
days, or even weeks, he begins to complain ; may come in 
from his play with headache and chilliness ; the skin soon 
becomes hot and dr}^ ; he is restless ; cannot sleep ; his 
countenance becomes flushed ; his eyes red and fiery ; the 
pulse is hard and frequent ; nausea and vomiting supervenes ; 



322 Woman's Medical Companion. 

the sulDstanee thrown up is generall}^ a greenish or 3'ellow- 
ish fluid ; and, as the case draws to a close, delirium, con- 
vulsions, or profound stupor takes place. Inflammation of 
the substance of the brain, either when it invades the whole 
organ at once, or begins in one part of cither or of all the 
membranes and extends rapidl}' to all the rest, is alwa3^s 
attended with high excitement, much fever, and great 
delirium. The face is red aild bloated, the e^'es are blood- 
shot and brilliant, the pupils contracted, great sensitiveness 
to light and noise. The deeper the interior of the brain is 
aflfected, the more the senses are stupefied, until the patient 
becomes entkel}^ unconscious ; he can neither see nor hear ; 
the pulse is small, frequent, and tremulous. Owing to the 
fact that the organization of a child's brain is much more 
delicate, and, therefore, more sensitive, than that of adults, 
its disease must necessarily be more frequent and dan- 
gerous. It is well, therefore, i)romptly to heed, and notice 
criticallv, ever}' sj^mptom, no matter how trivial, which 
points a finger of suspicion toward the brain. 

Generally speaking, these diseases are uncommon as a 
'primary disorder ; but the}^ are frequently met with as a 
seco?if7ar?/ affection, and in the following manner: A child 
suffering from a discharge, either acute or chronic, from the 
ear, takes cold ; the discharge stops, or from any other 
cause is suddenl}^ suppressed ; the inflammation, so to speak, 
travels inward, or, in other words, is transmitted to the 
membranes covering the brain. The patient becomes dull 
and drows}' ; sometimes, when there is high fever, he is 
delirious ; he puts his hands up to his head, or bores it 
into the pillow, and b}' degrees sinks into a complete 
stupor, from which he ma}' never recover. 

There is no doubt that catarrhal diflficulties of the head 
and throat are frcqucntl}' transmitted to the brain. Or the 
inflammation creeps along from one membrane to another, 



Diseases of the Brain and Nervotis System. 323 

until it finally reaches the brain, and produces fatal results. 
This is especially the case when astringent lotions and 
injections are made use of for the cure of such complaints. 
In "eruptive" fevers, especiallj' "when the eruption does not 
come out Tvell upon the surface, or, after being well out, it 
suddenh' strikes in ; also, during difficult dentition, or even 
in some forms of severe colds, the child will complain of 
chilliness, with alternate flushes of heat. There will be 
pain in the head, manifested b}' the child putting his hands 
up to it ; he moans, becomes drows}', stupid, or restless ; 
rolls his head and screams. Any general u'ritation may 
bring on the disease. It sometimes supervenes upon the 
drying up of eruptions, such as scald-head or sores behind 
the ears, especiallj' in scrofulous children. Diseases of the 
brain dming infancy are much more frequent among those 
born of parents who are either suffering from some tuber- 
cular disease themselves, or in whose families such com- 
plaints have existed to a greater or less extent. 

Perhaps the most frequent form of brain disease in child- 
hood is that known as " tubercular meningitis," or acute hy- 
drocephalus, or more commonh', water on the brain. This is 
verv insidious in its attack ; it steals upon the patient before 
he is aware of its approach. He loses his appetite ; becomes 
capricious ; sometimes he appears to dislilvc his food, and 
sometimes devours it voraciously ; his tongue is foul, breath 
offensive, his abdomen enlarges, and is sometimes tender; 
his bowels are torpid, and the evacuations from them unnat- 
ural ; the stools are pale, and contain but little bile, or are 
dark, fetid, som'-smelling, lump}' ; and the child loses his 
former health}^ aspect. There 'are obscure indications of 
cerebral derangement, and he shows unsteadiness and tot- 
tering in his gait. When these s}^nptoms are observed in a 
child who has any hereditar}' tendenc}' to scrofula, or in a 
child who is precocious or particularly clever, there will be 



324 Woman's Medical Companion. 

much reason to apprehend that mischief is brewing in his 
head. The pain is usually located just over the brows, but 
may extend all over the head ; at the beginning of an attack, 
there is often pain and stiffness at the back of the neck, 
extreme tenderness of the scalp, and the child cries and 
shrieks when taken up. Vomiting is nearly a constant 
S3'mptom, and is often excited by raising the child to an 
erect position ; the headache and vomiting are both aggra- 
vated b}^ motion ; there is a total loss of appetite, the tongue 
is coated white, the breath is offensive. Constipation is 
almost always a prominent symptom. Diarrhoea is rare ; 
the constipation is generally obstinate for the first week or 
ten days of the disease, and then, toward the termination 
of the case, gives way to a diarrhoea with involuntary stools. 
The head is usually hot, the pulse variable, the senses of 
sight and hearing become painfully acute, the patient is 
excessively sensitive to light, and the slightest noise or jar, 
even a person walking across the room, irritates and dis- 
tresses him. The next stage evidences a marked change in 
his aspect and S3'mptoms : noises no longer disturb him, he 
is in a half comatose condition, convulsions frequently' 
occur, sometimes paralysis. The urine and stools are passed 
unconsciously ; he is incessantl}^ picking at his lips, nostrils, 
ears, and bedclothes. This stage may last a week or two, with 
intermissions of intelligence, api^arently restored health and 
vivacit}^, and regaining the use of his senses, but only to 
sink into a deeper stupor than before. He now enters upon 
the last stage. He rolls his head perpetually from side to 
side ; palsy frequently occurs ; the circulation is unequal ; 
intermittent fever supervenes ; he is alternately raving and 
insensible ; the pulse gets weaker and weaker ; and death, in 
many instances, takes place in the midst of a convulsion. 

No treatment of a temporary nature can be prescribed ; 
the most skilful and patient watchfulness of an experienced 



Diseases of the Brain and Nervous System. 325 

pli3'sician can be alone relied upon. The diet and regimen 
should be the same as in fevers. (Remedies Nos. 97, 132, 
133, 134, 135.) 

CHROIVIC HTDROCEPHAI.US. 

Chronic h3Tlrocephalus is an actual drops}" of the brain. 
The disease is generally congenital, the child being born 
with a head out of all proportion to the rest of its body. 
From some cause not well understood, a watery fluid col- 
lects within the brain, and the skull, being but ' imperfectly 
developed, 3'ields to the inward pressure, and the head is 
augmented in some cases to an enormous size. When this 
accumulation of water takes place, as it frequently does, 
while the child is yet in the womb, it is sometimes impossi- 
ble for it to pass through the natural outlets into the world. 
In such cases the mother's life must be saved and the 
infant's sacrificed. In a large number of cases, however, 
the child is brought into the world entire and unhurt, and 
lives for a longer or shorter period. Sometimes, however, 
the accumulation of water does not take place until 
after bkth ; but when it does take place, which may be 
in a few daj^s, weeks, or even months, it will be per- 
ceived that the head enlarges with gi'eat rapidity, is quite 
disproportionate to other parts of the body, and of course 
gives the child a very strange aspect. The greater part of 
those afflicted with this form of dropsy either recover or 
die diu'ing infanc}' ; they seldom grow up in this condition ; 
there are, however, isolated and rare instances where they 
have reached adult life and possessed a fair amount of 
mteUect. (Remedies Nos. 129, 130, 131, 230.) 

CONVTJIiSIOlVS, SPASMS, OR FITS. 

These terms are used indifferently and indiscriminately, 
to indicate a violent and involuntary agitation of a part or 



326 Woman'' s Medical Companion. 

of the whole body. These agitations consist in alternate 
contractions and relaxations of the muscles of the part 
affected. Convulsions may be either general or partial, 
WTien general, the muscles of the face and body, as well as 
those of the extremities, are involved. When partial, the 
spasmodic action is confined to one particular part. All 
con^Tilsive diseases consist in affections of the true spinal 
S3"stem of nerves. 

Causes. — Among the predisposmg causes of the dis- 
ease may be mentioned a highly susceptible, irritable, or 
nervous temperament. It has been stated that convulsions 
are more common in girls than in bo3's. Whether there is 
am" truth in this or not, I am unable to sa3^ It is also said 
that dehcate children are more subject to them than robust 
ones. This ma}^ be so. We frequently meet with families 
in which all the children, daring infancy, are afflicted more 
or less with spasms. This ma}' be owing to a similarit}" of 
nervous temperament inherited from the parents. Convul- 
sions occur most frequentlj' in children under seven 3'ears 
of age, and particularly duiing first dentition. The most 
common causes are irritation of the bowels, diflScult teeth- 
ing, and worms. A dangerous form of convulsions is often 
produced by overloading the stomach, or by eating heavy 
or indigestible substances. The most alaiTning variet}", 
however, — because of frequentl}' terminating unfavorabl}", 
— is that occasioned by heavy blows or falls upon the 
head. 

Spasms in children are frequently occasioned b}" the inor- 
dinate use of drugs. When we come to consider how deli- 
cate the organization of an infant's nervous s^^stem must be, 
it is not to be wondered at that the enormous quantities of 
patent and domestic remedies which children are compelled 
to take frequently derange the equilibrium. The onl}' 
wonder is, that they ever recover from convulsions tluis 



Diseases of the Bram and Nervous System. 327 

produced. Excessive jo}', sorrow, anger, fear, or any 
other passion, undue exposure to cold or heat, severe pain, 
and repelled eruptions, frequently cause convulsions. When 
convulsions usher in eruptive, fevers, they seldom have a. 
fatal termination, but when they appear during or at the 
termination of those diseases, the result is usualty fatal. 

Syiliptoms. — Convulsions are not, as a rule, preceded 
by any premonitory symptoms. The attack usuall}' com- 
mences with the e3'es, which are at first fixed and staring ; 
as the case advances, the}^ become agitated, and are turned 
up beneath the upper e3'elid, leaving only the whites visible ; 
the eyelids are sometimes open, and sometimes shut ; the 
e^es are frequently crossed, the pupils being either 
excessively contracted or dilated. The muscles of the face 
next become affected, and the contractions produce at times 
most horrid contortions. There are sometimes onl}' slight 
twitchings of the muscles of the face, with alternate con- 
tractions and relaxations. The mouth is distorted into 
various shapes : the corners are drawn down and fixed in 
this position, or the muscles of one side may contract 
while the others relax, and so keep the parts in a constant 
state of agitation. The tongue, when it can be seen, 
will be observed to be in constant motion. It not unfre-. 
quently gets between the teeth, and is severely bitten. 
Sometimes the jaws are firmly set, and at other times in 
violent motion. In rare cases there is foaming at the 
mouth ; there is alwaj's a blue shade around the ej^es and 
mouth, and often the whole surface of the head becomes 
violet-colored. In severe cases, the movements and distor- 
tions are much more violent. In all cases, mild or severe, 
though consciousness is entirely destroj^ed, the child is still 
sensible to external impressions, that is, will open his mouth 
when a spoon is i)ut against his lips, and swallow anything 
given to hun. The duration of the fit is extremely uncer- 



328 Woman's Medical Companion. 

tain ; it may be of onl}' a few moments' duration, or it may 
continue for hours. The average range of the paroxysm is 
from two minutes to half an hour. When the spasm is 
protracted, it is usuall}^ broken b}' brief intermissions. The 
duration and recm-rence of an attack depends entirely upon 
the cause of the disorder. So long as the disease continues 
in action, we can expect no permanent improvement. Our 
first effort is naturall}^ to remove the cause, but it is often 
so difficult of detection, that the cure is necessarily much 
retarded. 

TREATMENT. 

In this work, we must of course confine ourselves to gen- 
eral treatment^ the special and particular treatment for the 
disease which occasions it, and the disordered condition of 
the nervous S3'stem, being solely the work of the ph3'sician. 
The first thing to be done in a case of convulsions, is to put 
the child into a warm bath, about 96° ; it is almost certain to 
alia}' the spasm. In slight cases, a foot-bath, with a little 
mustard in it, will be found sufficient. The patient should 
be kept in the water from ten to twenty minutes, or until 
the convulsion ceases. "When he is taken out, 3'ou should 
not stop to wipe or dress him, but just wrap him in a warm 
fiannel or woollen blanket. Cold icater a]3plied to the head 
is also an excellent auxiliary. During the application of the 
foot-bath, cold applications can be made, and should be 
continued until the head feels quite cool. The best way to 
apply it is to pom* cold water from the nozzle of a small 
watering-pot, held two or thi'ee feet above the child's head. 
This process must be repeated as often as the head begins 
to get warm again ; it should not be allowed to get hot. If 
possible, the child should be placed in a large, well-venti- 
lated room, where the air is pure. "WTien this cannot be 
done, the next best thing is to expose the patient to fresh 



Diseases of the Brum and Nervous System. 329 

air at an open window. Above all, do not torture the child 
by the appUcation of mustard plasters, onion -draughts, and 
the legion of disgusting nostrums advised b}^ well-meaning 
but indiscreet friends. {^See Remedies Nos. 98, 184.) 

Indigestion. — If the convulsions be caused by over- 
loading the child's stomach, or the presence of some indi- 
gestible substance, evacuate the stomach at once by an 
emetic. Lukewarm water is as good as an3'thing, or tick- 
hng the thi'oat with a feather. The feet and legs should be 
placed up to the knees in hot water, as hot as can be borne. 
Should this fail, immerse the entire body in hot water, 
at the same time pouring cold water on the head. If the 
bowels are constipated, or if 3'ou cannot excite vomiting, 
give an injection of sweet-oil and warm milk. 

Teething". — ^^Hien the spasms arise from this cause, as 
they ver}^ frequently do, take a sharp penknife and make 
an incision in the gum wherever the seat of the irritation 
appears to be. A warm bath is, of course, essential. 

Mechanical Injuries. — TVlien convulsions arise 
from blows or falls upon the head, a solution of arnica 
should be at once applied, and a ph3^sician summoned. 

Fright, Suppressed Eruption, or Catarrh, 
or Unknown Causes. — In convulsions having such 
origin, the warm bath or cold douche are indispensable. 

Diet. — After a convulsive seizm-e it is best that the 
child should be kept upon a low or rather non-stimulating 
diet for a few da3's. Especial care should be taken in this 
respect if the spasm has been caused by indigestion. 



CHOREA — ST. VITUS'S DAIVCE. 

Chorea is essentiall}' a disease of the. nervous sj^stem, of 
a spasmodic nature. It is characterized by tremulous, ir- 
regular, and, in some cases, most ludicrous motions of all or 



330 Woman^s Medical Companion, 

any of tlie yoluntary muscles. These contractions are 
partia% involuntar}^, are more marked upon the left side 
than the right, affect females more than males, occur chieflj" 
in persons between six and fifteen years of age, and are 
not accompanied b}^ pain. 

Causes, — It is said to occur most frequently in chil- 
dren of a nervous, delicate, excitable temperament, and is 
frequently hereditary, No doubt but that a disordered con- 
dition of the digestiA^e sj^stem, as well as uterine affections, 
predispose to the disease. Among the exciting causes may 
be mentioned anything which makes a forcible impression 
upon the nervous system : sti'ong mental emotions, of which 
fright is the most common ; injmies of the head and back ; 
the improper emplo3^ment of lead, mercury, and other 
metallic poisons ; suppressed eruptions or discharges of an}^ 
kind ; the extension of rheumatism to the membrane of the 
spinal cord ; cutting of the permanent teeth ; anxiety ; sup- 
pressed emotion of any kind ; excitement of the passions, 
and retained or difficult menstruation. 

Symptoms. — Its approach may be either sudden or 
gradual, and is indicated by a variable condition of health 
for two or three weeks, imperfect digestion, constipation of 
the bowels, loss of appetite, and general derangement of 
the digestive and menstrual functions. This disease, unlike 
many other convulsive diseases, does not render the subject 
unconscious, neither does it affect volition. The patient 
knows perfect^ well what he is about, and what he wants 
to do ; but he cannot alwa3's do exactly as he wishes. The 
ordinary movements of the bod}', to a certain extent, can be 
performed ; but there is some other power besides the will 
at work, and this power is constantly interfering with all the 
movements, misdirecting the hand that is put out to seize 
something, or jerkhig it back and giving it a new direction, 
rendering unsteady and imperfect every act, bringing into 



Diseases of the Brain and Nervous System. 331 

play muscles that should be quiet, and arresting those which 
the will has set at work. The muscles of the face are 
jerked about with an agility that is truly surprising, 
drawing the face into all sorts of shapes and grimaces. 
The hands and arms are twisted and jerked into every con- 
ceivable position. The inferior extremities are affected in 
the same way. In fact, it seems sometimes as though the 
whole muscular S3'stem had gone crazy. If you ask the 
patient to put out her tongue, she will have to make many 
attempts before she can accomplish it. She cannot keep 
her limbs in one position for half a minute. "Walking is 
alwa3's more or less difficult. There is no sajang in what 
direction the hand or foot ma}^ be moved when it is once 
lifted. The patient progi'esses in a zigzag direction, totters 
from side to side, going by fits and starts, even standing 
being frequently impossible. Articulation, too, is not un- 
commonly arrested, and mastication so materially inter- 
rupted by the irregular contraction of the muscles which 
move the jaw, as to render feeding by the ordinary method 
impracticable. 

Treatment. — Remedies Nos. 99, 165, 166, 167. 

Diet and Regimen. — The diet should be perfectly 
plain and nutritious ; all articles of pastry, and rich or 
highl}^ seasoned dishes should be avoided. Coffee and tea 
are unmistakably injurious. Out-door exercise — plenty of 
it — is decidedly beneficial. 



HXIABACHi:. 

By this general term is understood a pain of any descrip- 
tion in the head. It is usually accompanied by an intol- 
erance of noise and light, and alwaj^s with incapability of 
mental exertion. As headache appears in many forms, 
it has, consequently, as many causes, and an accurate 



332 Woman's Medical Companion. 

knowledge of the cause of the pain is essential to the suc- 
cessful choice of the remedy. It may arise from nervous 
irritability or excitement, uterine or abdominal derangement, 
over-exertion, fasting, decayed teeth, excessive menstrua- 
tion, nursing, impure air, sudden suppression of discharges 
or eruptions, mental excitement of any kind, severe cold, 
etc. The sjTnptoms of the various descriptions of pain : 
neuralgic, rheumatic, nervous, sick, bilious, congestive, 
catarrhal, etc., are too well known to need enumeration, 
and the treatment of the various phases of this affection 
will be found in detail under its appropriate head in Rem- 
edies Nos. 100, 216, 217, 218. 

The diet during an attack should be light and low, and 
all articles of a stimulating nature should be avoided, and 
especially tea, coffee, or alcohoKc drinks. 



RHEUMATISM 

is an inflammation of a peculiar character, being caused 
by acid or poisonous matter in the blood, and having 
for its seat the fibrous tissue, or that thready texture 
which enters largely into the composition of the cords and 
muscles of the human body. The sj'novial, or lining 
membrane of joints, is also peculiarly subject to rheumatic 
inflammation. Hence the terms fibrous rheumatism and 
synovial rheumatism. There are also acute and chronic 
rheumatism. Acute rheumatism is a very painful affection. 
It is most frequently brought on by exposure to wet and 
cold after fatiguing exercise to the muscles. Women are 
usually very reckless in this respect, dabbling about in 
water, both warm and cold, and rushing about from kitchen 
or sculler}'- to dining-room, parlor, or dr3dng-gT0und, half 
clad, and encountering a constant alteration or change of 
temperature. The only wonder is that they manage to 



Diseases of the Brain and Nervous System, 333 

retain their health at all under such opposite conditions of 
the atmosphere. 

Symptoms. — Its principal characteristics are high 
fever, full, bounding pulse, furred tongue, profuse sweat, 
with a sour smell, the bodil}^ weakness increasing without 
relieving the pain ; scant}' and high-colored urine, with 
brick-dust sediment, and swelling of the joints, with slight 
redness, gTcat tenderness, and severe pain, which is par- 
ticularly agonizing when the patient attempts to move. 
This affection often changes suddenly from one part of the 
bod}' to another, or from one set of joints to another. 
This sudden shifting, termed metastasis, is peculiarly 
dangerous, for sometimes the inflammation, seeming to 
regard the constantly moving heart as a large central point, 
suddenly seizes upon its lining membrane, and occasionally 
results in sudden death. 

Chronic Rheumatism sometimes follows as the 
sequence or result of a severe attack of acute rheumatism, but 
it is much more often an independent disease. It differs from 
the acute form in being seldom attended by fever. It fre- 
quently lasts for many years, and causes excruciating 
suffering. The S}Tnptoms are varied, according to the 
temperament and constitution of the patient, but usually 
comprise pain, lameness, stiffness, etc., in the joints and 
other parts. The joints are frequently swollen, but not 
nearly so much as in the acute disease. It is peculiar to 
this form of the complaint that when the patient remains 
at rest for a time he wiU have pain and stiffness in the 
affected part on beginning to move, but as he grows warm 
both will disappear. 

Treatment. — Chronic rheumatism is often palliated, 
and sometimes cured, by passing a current of electro- 
magnetism through the affected parts, both internally and 
externally. Remedies Nos. 297, 298, 299, will be found 



334 Woman's Medical Companion. 

efficacious. It is -well to wear a piece of oiled silk over the 
affected part. It keeps up a gentle perspiration from the 
rheumatic surface, and materially hastens a cure. To bathe 
the affected joint at bedtime with hot sweet-oil, and then 
envelope it in cotton batting, to be kept on through the 
night, will often give much relief. The bowels must be 
kept regular, and all exposm-e to wet feet or clothes, and 
to currents of cool ail' when sweating, must be carefully 
shunned. 



]VEURAIiGIA. 

The meaning of this term is pain in the nerve. "Wlien 
occmTing in particular parts of the S3^stem it is frequently 
confounded with rheumatism, though it differs materially 
from that disease. Rheumatism is a specific kind of inflam- 
mation, affecting particular tissues of the body ; while 
neuralgia is quite independent of inflammation, and is 
simply a pain in the nerve, unaccompanied b}' fever or any 
noticeable change of structure in the affected part. The 
pain of neuralgia is often severe, sometimes excruciating ; 
it occurs in paroxysms of irregular duration, and, after either 
regular or irregTilar intervals, affects various joarts of the 
body, and attacks males as well as females. 

Causes. — In not a few cases the causes of neuralgia 
are very obscure. One very great difficulty in making out 
the causes and origin of these pains is, that they are so fre- 
quently occasioned by some som-ce of irritation situated in 
a part distant from where the pain is felt. For instance, 
you strike 3'our elbow in a certain way, and 3'ou produce a 
tingling sensation, not in the part struck, but at a dis- 
tance, — in 3'our little finger. The same thing is constantly 
happening in disease. Something taken into the stomach, 
which arrests digestion, may cause pain in a remote part ; 



Diseases of the Brain and Nervous System. 335 

some affection of the brain or spinal cord may cause it. Damp 
and cold, in an}^ form, dwellings, clothing, exposure to 
inclement weather, etc., most frequently cause neuralgia. 
Facial neuralgia is often occasioned by decayed teeth, while 
the tooth itself may be perfectly free from pain. 

The S3'mptoms are so familiar to us all that they need not 
be enumerated. The attacks are very variable in duration, 
as they may last a minute, an hour, a day, or a week. Tic 
douloureux, angina pectoris, and sciatica are purely neu- 
ralgic affections. 

Treatment. — As an external application, perhaps 
nothing is better than cold water, or, when that cannot be 
borne, warm or tepid water. Frequent bathing and plenty 
of out-door exercise are very beneficial. Internally, take 
prescriptions Nos. 101, 280, 281, 282, 283. 

Angina Pectoris is a neuralgic affection of the heart. 
It is sometimes called breast-pang, and is a painful, suffoca- 
tive sensation in the breast, which comes on suddenly dur- 
ing walking, but ceases as soon as one stands still. During 
the paroxysm the patient should remain perfectly quiet, in 
an erect position, with all the clothing loosened. For 
remedies, see Nos. 280, 281, 282, 283. 

Tic-Douloiireux, or neuralgia of the face, is an ex- 
cruciating affection, too well known to need comment. The 
most effective remedies are Nos. 280, 281, 282, 283. 

Sciatica, — This is nem-algia of the great sciatic nerve. 
The pain starts in the region of the hi]3-joint and extends 
to the knee or even to the foot, accurately following the 
course of the great sciatic nerve. The pain is sometimes 
so severe as not only to impede the motion of the foot but 
to deprive the patient of all rest. It frequently produces 
stiffness and contraction of the limb. As diseases of the 
hip and knee joint not unfrequently result in serious de- 
formit}^, it is alwa^'s best, when these parts are threatened, 



336 Woman's Medical Companion. 

to place the child under the care of an experienced ph3^si- 
cian. For remedies, see Nos. 101, 280, 281. 

Diet and Reg'imeii. — The diet should be plain and 
nutritious. Coffee and.green tea should be speciall}' avoided. 
As gastric disturbance is frequently the exciting cause, care 
should be taken to avoid all indigestible and other descrip- 
tions of food likely to disagree with the constitution. 



DISEASES OF THE EYES, EARS, AND NOSE 
IN CHILDREN. 

Diseases of the Eyes. — The dehcate structure of 
the e3'e renders it extremely liable to accidents of various 
kinds and diseases of various forms ; and, what is indeed 
fortunate for all these diseases and accidents, ever}' one 
whom the patient meets has a certain cure, — one never 
known to fail. It is not asserting too much to say that, 
without a doubt, more permanent injury has been done to 
the e^'es b}' the use of local applications than has ever been 
done b}' natural disease. Slight ailments, which would have, 
been but trifles under rational treatment, have been aggra- 
vated into serious diseases by irritant washes and lotions. 
I would advise ever}' one to abjure all eye-waters, lotions, 
salves, ointments, and the like, and adhere to pure cold, 
or, in cases of peculiar sensitiveness, warm water. 

When Erysipelas affects the eyes (which will be known 
by the surrounding redness), nothing wet should be applied, 
but, instead, dry and warm applications should be used. 

SORE EYES OF TOUNG INFAI^TS. 

This affection is very common among young infants, set- 
ting in frequently when the child is but a few days old. 
Generally the eyelids are first affected, but the eye proper 



Diseases of the Eyes, etc, in Children. 337 

soon, becomes implicated if the disease continues long or 
is neglected. It is occasioned, either by some irritating 
substance getting into the e3'e — soap, for instance — when 
the child is being washed, or by cold. The child's eyes 
should be washed with lukewarm water, giving the child 
internally Nos. 103, 242. 
• 

STY OX THE EYEI.II>, 

A sty is simply a small boil on the margin of the eyelid. 
They are quite painful, suppurate slowly, and show no ten- 
dency to bui'st. Give remedies Nos. 104, 242. When the 
remedy does not check the advance of the disease, and sup- 
puration is about to take place, or when there is considerable 
redness, with throbbing pain, a warm poultice should be 
apphed to facilitate its breaking. 

S^UIlVTIIVG-STRABIS^SfTJS. 

This is an affection of the e3^es, in which they are drawn 
out of their natural position. It may be spasmodic, caused 
by some affection of the brain, or it may be occasioned by 
a permanent shortening of one of the lateral straight mus- 
cles of the eyeball. In the latter case an operation is 
necessar3^ Drugs seldom have an}^ beneficial effect on this 
affection, though sometimes Nos. 105, 242, render material 
aid in conjunction with the mechanical means. 

DISEASES OF THE EAR — IlVFIiAMMATIOW OF THE EAR. 

This is a very painful disease. The inflammation affects 
the passage or tube of the ear, sometimes causing it to swell 
to such an extent as to close it entirely, and at times occa- 
sioning such severe pain as to scarcely allow the affected 
member to be touched. The s}Tnptoms indicative of this 
disease are : violent burning, itching, beating pains, deep in 
the ear ; and, finally, swelling and redness, both internally 



338 lVoman*s Medical Companion. 

and externally, great sensibility to noise, and more or less 
fever. As a general iTile, this disease can "be conti'oUed \^\ 
one of the following remedies : Xos. 106, 242. 

It is neither judicious nor safe to be constantly inti'oducing 
oil, laudanum, and the like, into the ear. Rehef is often 
afforded by covering the ear with cotton to protect it fi'oni 
the air and noise ; and warm water, appUed with a spft 
hnen rag, will often ease the pain without doing injury. 

EABACHE. 

This is a very frequent affection of young children, and, 
although resembhng inflammation of the ear, is quite a dif- 
ferent disease, the one being accompanied by fever, and 
the other not. The pain of e^irache is of a neuralgic or 
rheumatic character, and generally arises fi'om taking cold. 
The attacks come on suddenly, and are of short dm-ation. 

TREAniEXT. — See remedies Xos. 107. 242. 

In regard to external api)lications. which are so frequently 
used, and sometimes with advantage. I have no serious ob- 
jection to offer. Tor my own part I would rather ti-ust to 
the remedies I have mentioned, because the parts may be 
so injm-ed that restoration will be almost impossible. The 
safest way is to use nothing, unless it be a httle ohve-oil, 
or tepid water. Sometimes a sponge, or soft muslin, 
dipped in water and apphed to the eai', will migitate the 
pain. 

RtJlA'JUVG OF TffE EABS. 

This troublesome and sometimes exceedingly offensive 
disorder arises from various causes. It frequently remains 
after inflammation, gatherings in the head. etc. Perhaps 
the worst form, and that which is most difficult to cm-e, is 
that resulting from scarlet-fever. The attempts which are 



Diseases of the EyeSy etc., in Children. 339 

frequenth' made to arrest the discharge b}^ some local appli- 
cations are greatly to be reprehended, as the most insignifi- 
cant discharge may, when suddenly suppressed, produce 
most dangerous consequences. It is best to bear patiently 
with the affliction until a cure can be effected with the proper 
remedies. Kever tamper with the eye or ear. The princi- 
pal remedies are Nos. 108, 242. 

BI.EEDEVG FROM THE IVOSE. EPISTAXIS. 

This is quite a common occurrence among j^oung people, 
and seldom amounts to more than a temporary inconvenience, 
rarely needing an}^ remedial assistance. A shght blow, a 
fit of sneezing, or the summer heat, is sufficient, with many, 
to bring it on. This is owing to an undue fulness of the 
bloodvessels of the head. In young girls it sometimes 
comes on periodically, with or at the time the menses should 
appear, and frequently in fevers and other diseases. It often 
relieves or cures headache or vertigo. In young children 
it is almost always salutary, and may be left to work its 
own cm-e. 

TREATMENT. 

The nm'sery remedy is to slip a kej" or piece of cold metal 
down the back, or to sprinkle the face with cold water, 
which sometimes restrains the hemorrhage by producing a 
contraction of the bloodvessels. Very often a severe hem- 
orrhage can be stopped by causing the patient to hold his 
hands high above his head. Remedies Nos. 109, 220, 221, 
wiU be found very efficacious. 

DISEASES OF THE XTRIIVART ORGAjVS. IVETTIIVG THE 

BE1>. 

It is a general, but erroneous, opinion that this affection 
is simply a " bad habit," when it is in reality a disease. 



340 Woman'' s Medical Cofnpanion, . 

The child is whipped for what is not its fault, — for a thing 
which is totally beyond its control. In the majority of cases 
it arises from a weakness of the parts, and, as the bladder 
fills up, the urine escapes involuntarily. Now, is the child 
to blame here ? 

TREATMEIVT. 

All articles which have a tendency to increase the secre- 
tion of urine should be avoided. Tea, coffee, and all salt or 
sour articles of food are objectionable. The child should 
take a moderate supper, and as little drink as possible (cold 
water or milk being preferable) and should not be sent im- 
mediatel}' to bed. Plenty of out-door exercise is always 
advisable. The child should be taken out every day, and 
permitted to run, hop, skip, jump, etc. When in bed, it 
should not be allowed to he on its back. If the difficulty 
presents itself in young bo3'S of ten or twelve years of age, 
there is reason to suppose that they are practising a secret 
vice^ which should at once be arrested. The proper remedies 
are indicated at No. 110. 



RETEIVTIOIV OF URINE EV IIVFAIVTS. 

As a general thing, new-born infants discharge the con- 
tents of the rectum and bladder shortly after birth ; occa- 
sionally, however, it happens that the urine is retained for 
a longer period, not unfrequently producing sj^mptoms 
which demand our immediate attention. It is uneasy, 
nervous, and cries, especially when pressure is made on the 
region of the bladder ; there is more or less fever ; it twists 
its body and draws up its legs. If relief is not soon afibrded, 
convulsions and other dangerous symptoms follow. 

Treatment. — A warm bath, or rubbing with the warm 
hand over the region of the bladder, is of great service. The 



Diseases of the Eyes^ etc^ in Children. 341 

following remedies will generall}^ afford a satisfactory result : 
No. 111. 

IIVFtAMMATIOlV OF THE PRIVATES. 

A great source of anno3^ance sometimes befalls young 
girls (and occasionally bo3^s, too) in the shape of an in- 
flammatory swelling of the private parts. The lips of the 
vagina become swollen, hard, red, and A'erj^ sensitive to the 
touch. In boys the prepuce or foreskin becomes swollen 
or puffed up ; there is always more or less fever, accom- 
panied by burning or shooting pains. It may arise from 
cold, excoriations or chafings, or mechanical injuries. In 
women it is at times caused by rupture of the hymen, or 
difficult labor. 



342 Wo7nau's Medical Companio7t. 



GHAPTEK XIII. 

THE DOMESTIC MANAGEMENT OF THE SICK- 
ROOM. 

The most important element in the recovery of the sick 
is the h3'gienic and sanitar}^ surroundings of the patient. 
If these be neglected, the efforts of the ph3'sician, however 
skilful or attentive he may be, will avail but little. The 
sleeping apartment of the sick should be large, airy, loft}^, 
and well ventilated ; if possible, it should have a northern 
aspect, so as to avoid the mid-day heat or the afternoon 
sun ; and the windows should always be let down about an 
inch from the top, so as to allow the escape of the foul air 
and the admission of fresh, pure air. No room, however 
large, should be used as a sick-room, where it is possible, 
unless it has an open chimney. There should be no un- 
necessary articles of furniture, — two tables, a chair or two, 
a chest of drawers, and the bedstead and its necessar}^ ap- 
purtenances, such as a wash-stand, basins, etc., being all 
that is requisite. A sofa or reclining-chair is, of course, 
essential to the patient's comfort. There should be no 
kettle or other culinar3Mmplement in the sick-room, — the 
odor, or even the noise and bustle, of culinary preparation 
being specially injurious and annoying to the patient. The 
room should be carpeted, in order that the movements of 
the attendants may not disturb the sick person ; and on no 
account should there be anno3'ance or excitement by the 
sight or conversation of visitors. 

Beds and Bedding. — French, or iron bedsteads, 
without curtains, are the most suitable. In ever3' case of dis- 



Domestic Management of the Sick-room. 343 

ease, especially when attended by fever, the patient should 
be kept cool, and the most perfect freedom for respiration 
afforded. The mattress (not one of straw, however) should 
be placed over the feather-bed, and the pillows firm and 
elastic. The bed-spreads usually placed upon the bed 
during the day, and often retained during the night, are 
much too heav}', and calculated rather to increase than 
to subdue fever. When the patient is suffering from 
fever, it would be much better if she could have two beds 
at her disposal, either in the same or adjoining room, so 
that she could be moved from one to another every twelve 
hours. It would promote sleep, and go far to ensure her 
personal cleanliness. But when there is only one bed, the 
linen should be changed every morning and evening, or at 
least once in twentj^-four hours. 

In infectious diseases especially, and, relatively so, in 
diseases of all kinds, thorough ventilation is an absolute 
necessit}^ It must be remembered that infection rarely ex- 
tends above a few feet from the patient — even in the most 
malignant diseases not more than a few yards — if the room 
be well ventilated. If ventilation be neglected, the power of 
infection becomes greatly augmented, settling upon the 
clothes of the attendants, and even impregnating the uphol- 
ster}' and furniture of the room. Smooth and polished sur- 
faces do not readily retain or receive the infectious matter ; 
consequently, the nurses and attendants, in all infectious 
cases, should wear glazed gowns and aprons of oiled silk. 
It must also be borne in mind that infectious matter, even 
in the most virulent diseases, is not poisonous to every one ; 
there must be a predisposition — a sort of receptive condi- 
tion — in the person placed within the sphere of its influence. 
Hence, a thoroughly healthy person, taking the necessary 
precautions, will be wholly unaffected by the malarious or 
miasmatic influence of the disease. 



344 WomarCs Medical Companion. 

In ever}^ case of infectious disease the attendants, even 
in the best-ventilated rooms, should stand on the windward, 
or that side of the sick-bed from which the current of ak 
comes ; if they keep on the other side the infectious exhala- 
tions from the patient are blown upon them in a direct 
stream. They should never lean over the sick, or inhale 
their breath. 

Next to ventilation the temperature of the room is to be 
considered. The extremes of depression or elevation should 
be studiously avoided ; but much depends on the nature of 
the disease as to the exact degi'ee of temperature required. 
It is especially important in fevers, as it often does more 
good than any other remedial measures. The best average 
temperature is 60° Fahrenheit. In convalescence the air of 
the chamber should be frequentl}" renewed ; the temperature 
in spring and autumn should be maintained, as near as pos- 
sible, at 55° or 60° Fahrenheit, gradually lowering it as the 
patient acquires strength, so that she ma}'' be able to bear 
with impunity the atmospheric variations of the open air. 

The absolute cleanliness of the sick-room itself, and every- 
thing in or about it, is of the first importance. It should be 
cleansed and arranged the first thing in the morning, with as 
little noise or bustle as possible. The moment any vessel or 
implement is used by the invalid, it should be removed from 
the apartment, thoroughly cleansed, and retui'ned as soon as 
it is cleaned. Nothing in the form of a slop-basin or a slop- 
pail is admissible ; they only administer to the laziness of 
nurses. A glass or cup should never be used for medicine 
a second time without cleansing. It is a great mistake to 
suppose that the sick-room should be darkened; a moderate 
amount of light should always be admitted. 

The nurses or attendants should always be healthy, cheer- 
ful, good-tempered, neat, active, orderly, sober, and pos- 
sessed of a practical knowledge of diseases and remedies, 



Domestic Management of the Sick-room. 345 

and good general education sufficient to understand and 
intelligently cany out the instructions of the physician. 

One of the most important auxiliaries to the remedial 
efforts of the physician is the 



COOHERT FOR THE SICK-ROOM:. 

Baelet TTater. — Pearl barley, two ounces ;' boiling 
water, two quarts. Boil to one-half, and strain. A httle 
lemon-juice and sugar may be added, if desirable. To be 
taken freely in Inflammator}^ diseases. 

Rice Water. — Rice, two ounces; water, two quarts. 
Boil one horn' and a half, and add sugar and nutmeg. Rice, 
when boiled for a considerable time, becomes a kind of jelly, 
and, mixed with milk, is an excellent diet for children. It. 
has, to a certain extent, a constipating property, which is 
increased by boiling the milk. 

Decoction of Bran. — New wheat bran, one pint ; water, 
three quarts. Boil down one-third ; strain off the hquor, 
and add sugar, honey, or molasses, according to the patient's 
taste. Bran tea may be made b}^ using boihng water, and 
allowing the mixtm'e to stand in a covered vessel for three 
or four hours. 

Sage Tea. — Dried sage leaves, half an ounce; boUing 
water, one quai't. Infuse for half an hour, and strain ; add 
sugar and lemon-juice to suit the taste. Balm and other 
teas are made in the same manner. 

The above infusions form agreeable and useful drinks in 
fevers, and their diaphoretic powers ma}' be increased by 
adding a little sweet spu'its of nitre. 

Barley Coffee. — Roast one pint of common barley in 
the same way in which coffee is roasted. Add two large 
spoonfuls to a quart of boihng water ; boil five minutes. 
Add a little suscar. 



346 Wo7nan's Medical Companion, 

Lemon Water. — Put two slices of lemon, thinly pared, 
into a tea-pot ; a little bit of peel, and a bit of sugar. Pour 
in a pint of boiling water, and cover it close two hours. 

A Refreshing Drink in Fevers. — A little sage, two 
sprigs of balm, and a little sorrel in a stone jug, — the herbs 
ha^-ing first been washed and dried. Peel thin a small lemon, 
shce it, and put in a small piece of the peel ; then pour in 
three pints of boiling water ; sweeten, and cover close. 

A Very Pleasant Drink. — Pour a teacupful of cran- 
berries into a cup of water, and wash them. In the mean- 
time boil two quarts of water with one large spoonful of 
corn or oat meal, and a bit of lemon-peel, then add the 
cranberries. Add as much fine sugar as shall leave a smart 
flavor of the fruit, and a wineglassful of good sherry. Boil 
the whole gently for fifteen minutes, and strain. 

Flaxseed Tea. — Take of flaxseed, one ounce ; boihng 
water, one pint. Pour the boiling water on the unbruised 
seed, cover the vessel, and let it stand near the fire for an 
hour or two. The seeds must not be crushed or boiled, 
lest the oil in the interior be extracted. HaA^ing strained 
the infusion, add to it a httle lemon-juice, if no contra-indi- 
cating circumstances exist. Flaxseed is a imld demulcent, 
and is much used in diseases of the throat, chest and 
urinary passages. 

Oat:meal Grlt:l. — Of oatmeal (coarse is the best) two 
tablespoonsfuls ; water, one quart. Boil for ten or fifteen 
minutes, and strain. Add a httle salt, and sweeten to 
taste. If no reason to the contrary exists, the flavor of 
the gruel is much improved by adding some nutmeg, with a 
little wine or brandy. 

Toast Water. — Cut a shce half an inch thick, from a 
loaf of stale bread ; remove the crust, and carefulh' toast 
the shce on both sides. Place the toast and a small piece 
of orange or lemon-peel in a suitable vessel, add a pint of 



Domestic Ma?iagement of the Sick-room, 347 

boiling water, cover the vessel, and, when cold, strain off 
the water. This forms an agreeable drink in fevers. 

GrUM- Arabic Water. — As an article of diet, the proper 
proportions are one ounce of gum-arabic to a pint of boil- 
ing water. The solution is allowed to cool before it is used. 

Gum-arabic is very nutritive, and life can be sustained 
on it alone for some time. 

Lemonade. — Take of fresh lemon-juice four ounces ; 
fresh and very thin lemon peel, one-half ounce ; white sugar 
fom' ounces ; boihng water, three pints. Let them stand 
until cold, then strain off for use. When emplo3'ed in 
fevers, a little sweet spmt of nitre is sometimes added. 

Wlieu fresh lemon-juice cannot be procured, an excellent 
lemonade can be prepared from lemon s^Tup, made as fol- 
lows : dissolve ten drachms of tartaric or citric acid, and 
eight pounds of loaf sugar, in a gallon of water. Then rub 
from half a drachm to a drachm of fresh oil of lemon with 
a portion of the s}Tup, and afterward carefully mix it with 
the remainder. 

Lemonade, when freely taken, sometimes produces pain 
in the bowels. It must, therefore, be used with some re- 
serve as a daily drink. 

Arrow-root. — Arrow -root, one tablespoonful ; sweet 
milk, half a pint ; boiling water, half a pint ; sweeten with 
loaf sugar. Excellent aliment for children when the bowels 
are irritable. 

Vegetable Soup. — Take one turnip, one carrot, two pota- 
toes, and one onion. Let them be shced, and boiled in one 
quart of water for an hour. Add as much salt as is agree- 
able, flavor with a small portion of pot-herbs, and pour the 
whole upon a piece of dry toast. This is an agreeable 
preparation, and may be given when animal food is inad- 
missible. 

Mutton Broth. — Select two tender mutton chops, put 



348 Woman's Medical Companion. 

them into a saucepan, add one quart of cold water, and a 
little salt, cover the pan, and cook slowly for two hours ; 
then skim off the fat, and add a tablespoonful of rice, one 
white potato, one turnip, and a httle parsley, chopped fine. 
Simmer for thi'ee quarters of an hour, then pour into a 
bowl, and remove the chops, with all of the remaining fat. 
This broth is nutritious and palatable. 

Beef Tea. — Take of lean beef, cut into shreds, one 
pound, cold water, one quart. Heat slowly to the boiling 
point, and then boil twenty minutes, taking off the scum as 
it rises. Strain the hquor, and add salt according to the 
taste. This preparation is more nomishing than ordinary 
broths, and very j^alatable. 

Liebig's Beef Tea. — One pound of lean beef, free of 
fat, and separated from the bones, in the finely chopped 
state in which it is used for mince-meat, is uniformh' mixed 
with its own weight of cold water, slowly heated to boiling, 
and the hquid, after boihng briskly for a minute or two, is 
strained through a towel, from the coagulated albumen and 
fibrine, now become hard and horny. Thus we obtain an 
equal weight of the most aromatic soup, of such strength 
as cannot be obtained, even by boiling for hom's, from a 
piece of flesh. This is to be seasoned to taste. 

Essence of Beef. — Put a sufficient quantity of lean beef, 
sliced, into a porter-bottle to fill up its body ; cork it loosely, 
or not at aU, and place it in a pot of cold water, attaching 
the neck to the handle of the vessel by means of a string. 
Boil for an hour and a half or two hours, then decant the 
liquid and skim it. 

To this preparation ma}' be added spices, salt, wine, 
brandy, etc., according to the taste of the patient and na- 
ture of the disease. 

Calves'-Feet Jelly. — Take a set of four feet, break them 
into small pieces, add to them one gallon of water, and re- 



Domestic Management of the Sick-room. 349 

duce b}" boiling to one quart. Strain, and, when cold, 
skim the fat entirelj' off. Add to this the whites of six 
eggs, well beaten, a pint of wine, a pound of loaf-sugar, 
and the juice of four lemons, and let them be well mixed. 
Boil the whole for a few minutes, stirring constantl}^, and 
then pass the jelly through a flannel strainer. This forms a 
very nutritious article of diet for the sick and convalescent. 

BLAkc-iViANGE. — Boil One ounce of shred gelatine in a 
quart of milk, for a few minutes, stirring constantly. 
Sweeten to the taste, flavor with peach-water or essence of 
vanilla, and strain into a mould. 

Chicken Water. — Take one half of a chicken, divested 
of all fat, and break the bones ; add to this half a gallon 
of water, and boil for half an hour. Strain, and season 
with salt. A nutritious drink. 

Mucilage of Starch. —Take of starch, one ounce, pow- 
dered cinnamon, one drachm, gum-arabic, one ounce, boil- 
ing water, three pints. Boil until reduced one-third, and 
strain. The above may be taken for a common drink in 
d3'sentery. 

Mulled Wine. — Take two drachms of bruised cinnamon, 
half a nutmeg, grated, ten bruised cloves, and half a pint 
of boiling water. Infuse one hour, strain, and add of hot 
port or sherry wine (or good domestic wine) , one pint, and 
white sugar, one ounce. Mix. This is a mild, stimulant 
diink, used in convalescence from low forms of disease. 

Wine Whey. — Heat half a pint of milk to the boihng 
point, and, when boihng, add a gill of sherry or Madeira 
wine. Let it boil again, and then remove from the fire, and 
let it stand a few minutes. Then remove the curd, pour 
the whey into a bowl, and sweeten it. A little sugar aiid 
nutmeg may be added if desired. This is a mild and very 
useful stimulant, and may be used in diseases where there 
is great debihty ; the dose to be regulated by the circum- 



350 Woman's Medical Companion. 

stances of the case ; from a gill to a pint or more may be 
taken during the da3^ 

Flaxseed Meal, and other Poultices. — Take of the flax- 
seed meal, or other material, sufficient to servx the intended 
purj^ose ; pour boihng water over it, stiiTing briskly until it 
becomes a thick mass ; spread it upon an old piece of linen 
or cotton cloth, and place a small piece of netting or lace 
over it, so that it does not soil the clothing. Apply to the 
seat of pain. 



Casualties — External Injuries — Burns ^ etc. 351 



CHAPTER XIY. 

CASUALTIES — EXTERNAL INJURIES —BURNS 
AND SCALDS. 

BURNS AND SCAI.I>S. 

Burns and scalds, unless superficial and of small extent, 
are always troublesome to manage. When covering a large 
surface, or deep, they are both dangerous and troublesome. 
In the treatment of burns there are two essential points : 
First, careful attention to the constitutional symptoms in 
severe cases ; and, second, the prevention of adhesions and 
contractions during the process of healing. When the shock 
is severe, and there is great constitutional depression, it 
will be necessary to give stimulants ; these, however, should 
be given sparingly and with discrimination, for, when reac- 
tion takes place, it may even proceed to inflammation. The 
healing surfaces of fingers or other portions of the extremi- 
ties should be widely separated by splints and bandages to 
prevent deformity. 

The Treatment for superficial burns, of slight extent, 
is extremely simple. The most convenient and effectual is 
first to evacuate the serum or contents of the blisters, cover 
the part with raw cotton, and apply a bandage firmly over 
it. Other excellent remedies are detailed at Nos. 112, 143, 
144. 

CONCUSSION OF THE BRAIN. 

This may arise from a fall or blow upon the head, or from 
some violent shock to the bod}^ The symptoms will 
usually depend upon the severity of the shock. In cases 



352 Woman's Medical Companion. 

where the violence has been comparatively slight the dis- 
turbance of the intellectual functions will be transient. 
There will usually be some vertigo, dimness of sight, trem- 
bling of the limbs, and sickness of the stomach. In severe 
cases loss of sensation may exist for many hours, and 
finally be followed by reaction, which, if not controlled by 
treatment, increases to inflammation. 

Tbeatment. — Remedies ]^os. 113, 152, 153. 

SPRAEVS. 

These are caused by falls, lifting heavy weights, jerks, 
false steps, etc. Si3rains of joints, when severe, often arise 
from momentary displacement of the bones, which strains 
or perhaps partially tears the ligaments surrounding the 
joint. They are often troublesome, and require rest and 
bandaging a long time after the occurrence of the acci- 
dent. 

The Treatment consists in bandaging the part with 
cloths wrung out in cold water, to which a little tincture of 
arnica has been added. Internally, Remedy No. 114. 

Wounds are classified into incised, contused, lacerated, 
punctured, poisoned, and gunshot wounds. Incised icounds 
are clean cuts made in the soft parts with a sharp instru- 
ment. The troublesome feature of such wounds is hemor- 
rhage or bleeding. If an artery has been cut, the blood 
spouts in jets, and is of a bright-red color ; if a vein, the 
flow of blood is gradual, and of a purple color. The treat- 
ment consists in cleaning the wound by removing an3'thing 
that may be left in it, arresting the hemorrhage, bringing the 
cut surfaces and edges in close contact, and retaining them 
in such position. Small superficial wounds seldom require 



Casualties — External Injuries — Burns, etc, 353 

an3-tliing more than a bandage, snugly applied after the 
edges have been nicely adjusted. Wounds of greater depth 
sometimes require a stitch or two ; but, as a general thing, 
small strips of adhesive or arnica plaster properly applied 
will answer every purpose. No more dressing should be 
applied than is actually necessary to keep the parts to- 
gether. After a wound is dressed, the injured part should 
be kept in such a position that the wound will not gap. To 
accomplish this, it is sometimes necessary to apply a splint. 
Surgeons nowadays apply nothing to wounds for the pur- 
pose of healing them, except cold water. Ointments, 
salves, and a host of other things once used, have long 
since been abandoned. After a proper dressing has 
been applied to the wound, if bleeding still continues, 
apply cold water or pounded ice, nothing more. Should 
this not arrest it, and the blood be of a bright-red color, 
spouting out at intervals as the pulse beats, endeavor 
to compress the artery between the heart and the wound. 
Feel for the artery on the interior part of the limb ; 3'ou will 
know it by its beating when found. Place over it a large- 
sized cork, or a compress made by folding up a piece of 
cloth about two inches square, and as thick as your finger, 
and bind it down firmly with a roller. This will arrest the 
bleeding until you can procure professional assistance. 
(Xo. 115.) 

Contused Wounds, Bruises, etc. — These are 
occasioned by blunt surfaces, falls, or forcibl}^ coming in 
contact with some object. There is generally no break or 
division of the external surface, consequently the hemor- 
rhage is comparatively' slight and internal, forming what is 
called a "black and blue" spot. If the wound is severe 
there is little pain, the life of the part being destro3^ed ; if 
the wound be slight the pain is often intense. There is 
usually swelling, and discoloration of the skin. Treatment 



354 Woman's Medical Companion, 

consists in the prompt and continued application of cold 
water. The water can best be applied by saturating linen 
cloths with it, and keeping them applied to the parts. In 
severe cases, where suppuration is about to take place, it 
should be hurried forward by poultices. When all the dead 
flesh separates and comes away, this application should be 
changed to simple dressing of water, perhaps it will also be 
necessary to support the parts by adhesive strips. 

Lacerated Wounds are those where the soft parts 
are torn or rent asunder by violence, leaving a ragged, 
irregular wound. Hemorrhage is usually slight. Treat- 
ment consists in cleaning out the wound, and adjusting the 
parts as near to their natural position as possible, and 
securing them by as little dressing as practicable. As these 
wounds generally suppurate, spaces should be left between 
the adhesive strips to allow the matter to escape, and thus 
prevent abscesses from forming. Cold water, to which a 
little calendula has been added, should be constantly ap- 
plied. Lacerated wounds are prone to inflammation. 

Punctured Wounds. — These are made by some 
sharp, narrow instrument, as a needle, pin, thorn, splinter, 
piece of glass, etc. Slight wounds of this kind are seldom 
troublesome, provided the substance can be removed, unless 
it extend deep down among the tendons and nerves, where 
matter may form, causing great pain, and even deformity. 
When a person runs a nail or splinters of glass into the foot, 
they should be removed. When this cannot be done, all 
that need be applied is a little Canada balsam. This should 
be renewed every day. If there is much inflammation, 
apply cold water. 

Poisoned Wounds. — Bites and stings of insects, — 
bees, spiders, bugs, mosquitos. The bites and stings of 
insects, though seldom dangerous, are often exceedingly 
troublesome. The treatment for wounds of this kind con- 



Casualties — External Injuries — Burns ^ etc. 355 

sists in removing the sting of the insect, when it remains 
in the part, applj-ing a plaster of damp earth, and keep it 
wet afterward with a mixture of arnica and water. Should 
inflammation and feA'er ensue give internally aconite. 
For mosquito-bites apply spirits of camphor or lemon- 
juice. 

DISIiOCATION OF JOIIVTS. 

To "be skilful and successful in the reduction of disloca- 
tions, a perfect knowledge of the anatomy of the joints is 
indispensable. A dislocation maj^ be recognized by the fol- 
lowing S3'mptoms : in addition to the pain there will be loss 
of motion, swelling, alteration in the shape, length, and 
clirection of the limb. The treatment consists in reducing 
the luxation as speedil}^ as possible. This, however, a lay- 
man can seldom do. Still 3'ou can make a trial. If you 
do not succeed apply a solution of arnica — a spoonful to 
half a pint of water to the injured part. Give arnica 
internall}" (five to ten di'ops in a wineglass of water) , and 
await the arrival of a competent surgeon. 

FRACTURES. 

Fractures of bones may be recognized by the deformity, 
which, by comparing the sound limb with the injured one, 
will be readily recognized. The most certain sign, perhaps, 
is that of crepitation., which is a peculiar grating sound, dis- 
tinctly heard, when the two broken surfaces of the bone are 
rubbed together. In all cases of suspected fracture place 
the limb in the most comfortable position, and keep it con- 
stantly bathed with a solution of arnica, after which send 
for a competent surgeon. Do not get so excited as to 
accept the first doctor you can get, without any knowledge 
of his abihties. The case wiU take no harm if a whole day 



356 Woman's Medical Companion, 

should elapse before 3^011 obtain assistance. If the patient 
should be faint and weak give an occasional dose of cam- 
phorated spu'it, or aconite (about ten drops in a wineglass 
of water) . 

FOREIGN SUBSTANCES IN THE EYE, EAR, NOSE, AND 
THROAT. 

In the Eye. — No matter what has gotten into the 
ej^e, washing with cold water will always be beneficial. 
Rubbing the eye only increases the irritation, and should, 
therefore, alwa^'s be avoided. When lime or ashes enter 
it a little cream or sour milk is the best remed3^ If a 
hard subject or an insect has got into the ej-e draw the 
e3^elids apart, and turn the upper one over the lower one a 
couple of times until it is felt that the substance is removed. 
If particles of iron have entered, and have become fixed, 
bathe with arnica lotion, ten drops in a teacupful of water, 
until 3'ou can have it extracted. Should there be much 
inflammation use a tincture of aconite (a teaspoonful in 
half a pint of water) as a fomentation. 

In the Ear. — Insects sometimes find their way into 
children's ears ; in such cases lea,n the head to one side, 
and fiU the ear in which the insect is with sweet-oil. This 
floats it to the surface, when it can easily be removed. If 
a bean or an}" other substance which will swell bj" heat and 
moisture gets into the ear, the best way to remove it is 
to make a hook b}' bending a hair-pin into the right shape. 
This should be cautiously introduced behind the substance, 
and an efl'ort made graduall}' to extract it. After the opera- 
tion wash the ear out with a lotion of arnica. 

In the Nose. — Foreign substances maybe removed 
from the nose with a small pair of forceps, or the same 
instrument recommended for the ear. First, endeavor to 
eject it b}' sneezing, which may be excited either with snuff, 



Casualties — External Injuries — Biirns^ etc. 357 

or b}' tickling the nose with a feather. Sometimes the ob- 
struction may be pushed back so as to fall into the mouth. 
If these means fail apply to a surgeon. 

In the Throat or Windpipe. — If a foreign sub- 
stance lodges in the throat, first examine closel}'^, and, if 
within sight, endeavor to extract it with the fingers. If it 
is not visible excite vomiting immediately, by tickling the 
throat with a feather, or by putting mustard or snuff far 
back upon the tongue. Foreign substances have been re- 
moved from the windpipe by gently turning the patient 
upside down. 



358 Woman's Medical Companion. 



CHAPTEE XY. 

POISONS, AND THEIR ANTIDOTES. 

Substances which derange the vital functions and produce 
death by an action not mechanical are denominated poi- 
sons ; and the most eminent authorities on this subject have 
divided these substances into three classes, viz. : — 

Irritant Poisons, or those which produce irritation and 
inflammation, such as mineral acids, — arsenic, copper, etc. 

Narcotic Poisons. — Those producing stupor or delirium, 
and specially affecting the brain and nervous system, as 
opium, prussic acid, etc. 

Narcotic-acrid Poisons. — Those producing irritation or 
narcotism, and sometimes both together, — all of which 
are derived from the vegetable kingdom, — as strychnia, 
nux vomica, etc. 

As most everybody is compulsorily so situated that, 
through mistake or accident, poison of some kind is de- 
posited in various accessible places about their dwelling, 
and may, therefore, at any time, be taken into the sj'stem, 
it is desirable that every housekeeper or mother of a family 
should be thoroughly versed in the use of antidotes and the 
treatment of the supervening irritation or inflammation. 

If Sulphuric, Nitric, or Hydrochloric Acid is taken into the 
stomach in poisonous doses, give chalk or magnesia ; or, if 
this is not at hand, take the wall-plastering, and make it 
into a thin paste with water, and take it plentifully. Soap- 
suds is another antidote. Drink freely of milk, or any 
other mild fluid, both before and after the administration of 



Poisons and their Antidotes, 359 

the antidote. For the supervening inflammation use the 
same remedies as for gastric disturbances generall3\ 

In the event of Oxalic Acid being taken by mistake, as it 
easily ma}- be, from its close resemblance to Epsom salts, 
you must at once excite vomiting by tickling the throat 
with a feather, or by an emetic ; afterwards administering 
the remedies we have given for nitric and sulphuric acids. 
Take freely of mucilaginous diinks. 

For poisoning with Arsenic the first thing necessary is to 
thoroughly evacuate the stomach, and for this purpose 
give an emetic, and then follow with iron-rust, or the 
sesqui-oxide of iron largel}- diffused in water ; and let the 
patient drink freely of mucilaginous, farinaceous, or albu- 
minous drinks, and milk. 

For poisoning ivith Mercury, and Corrosive Sublimate. — 
This is the usual form of mercury employed for committing 
suicide ; and as it is used for bedbug poison, it is liable to 
be taken through carelessness or mistake. It is therefore 
requisite to point out some antidote the nearest at hand. 
Give whites of eggs in abundance, or gluten, if eggs cannot 
be had ; or else milk. The most usual form of the super- 
vening irritation is salivation or mercury fever. For these 
give nitric acid, and obtain for the patient fresh air and a 
nourishing diet as soon as possible. 

For p>oisoning with Copper. — The blue vitriol, or sul- 
phate of copper, and verdigris, are the forms in which this 
poison is most common ; and when taken into the system, 
the most ready antidote is the whites of eggs. Great care 
should be taken to exclude \Tinegar, for this acid would add 
^Ti-ulence to the poison. To allay or cui'e the remaining 
irritation, give sulphur twice a da}". 

Poisoning with Antimony, or Tartar emetic, is liable to 
occm', as this substance is sometimes used in medicine as 
an emetic. When given to excess it produces vomiting, 



360 Woman's Medical Companion. 

attended with burning pain at the pit of the stomach, fol- 
lowed by purging and cohc, stricture of the throat, and 
cramps. As an antidote give large draughts of warm 
water, and tickle the throat with a feather to induce vomit- 
ing ; also the decoction of any bark containing tannin, as 
oak, hemlock, or cherry-tree bark. 

For poisoning with Zinc^ or white vitriol^ which is denoted 
by violent vomiting, sunken eyes, and pale face, cold ex- 
tremities, and fluttering pulse, give the infusion of any of 
the substances containing tannin, and feed the patient with 
cream, butter, and chalk quite freely. 

For poisoning with Lead. — Red lead and white lead, as 
well as sugar of lead, are liable to be taken by mistake ; 
and their poisonous effects are denoted b}^ obstinate colic, 
spasms of the muscles, and sometimes apoplexy. As an 
antidote give water of ammonia, or hartshorn, or pearlash- 
water, or any of the earthy sulphates, as lime, etc. For 
lead paral3'sis give sulphur. 

For p)oisoning with Cantharides, which is denoted by 
intense burning in the pit of the stomach, and pain in the 
lower abdomen, feeble voice, laborious breathing, strangury, 
and tenesmus of the bladder, headache, and delirium. To 
remove the cantharides from the stomach excite vomiting 
in the most speedy way, — by tickling the throat with a 
feather, or drinking a strong mustard-tea, or by taking 
snuff upon the tongue. Spirits of camphor is the best 
antidote. 

For poisoning with Morphine^ which is denoted by giddi- 
ness and stupor, and insensibility to external impressions, 
the first thing necessarj^ is to remove the poison from the 
stomach by vomiting. Then keep the patient from sleeping, 
and in vigorous action ; administer strong coffee. 

For poisoning with Prussic Acid, when not fatal, resort 
to cold shower-baths, and inhalation of diluted water of 



Poisons and their Antidotes. 3G1 

ammonia vapor ; also a solution of carbonate of potash (of 
course as a vapor) . 

For poisoning with Charcoal-gas,, or with any of the 
poisonous gases, cold affusion should be immediately re- 
sorted to. 

Poisoning by Strychnia or Nux Vomica is denoted by 
strong convulsions, with great agitation and anxiety during 
the fits, rigidit}' of the entire body and limbs, lividity of 
the face and hands, etc. If taken in poisonous doses it 
generally proves fatal, in spite of treatment. If emetics 
are given, and the stomach is made to disgorge its contents 
sufficiently early, and the patient is not attacked with con- 
vulsions in two hours, he will generally be safe. 

Alcohol. — Large quantities of alcohohc liquors, taken 
by persons unaccustomed to their use, often produce fatal 
effects. 

The treatment in such cases is to evacuate the stomach 
as soon as p)ossible ; but from the rapidity of absorption 
this may not alwa^'s be effectual. The patient must be kept 
roused, and cold affusion plentifully used. Large draughts 
of tea or coffee ought to be taken until the stomach is 
thoroughly evacuated. 

Vinegar is an antidote for alkahne poisons, and obviates 
the ill effects of aconite, opium, poisonous mushrooms, 
belladonna, etc. 

Coffee. — Strong black coffee, made of the berry lightly 
roasted, and di'ank hot, is an antidote to opium, nux vomica, 
belladonna, narcotics, mushrooms, poisonous sumach, bitter 
ahnonds, and all those substances containing prussic acid. 
It must be borne in mind, however, that the cause must be 
removed, if possible, first. 

Camphor antidotes the ill effects of poisonous insects, 
and especially cantharides, whether administered internally 
or externally. It also antidotes the toxical effects of phos- 



362 Woman's Medical Compajiion. 

pliorus, spigelia, and santonin. It is very useful for the 
after-effects of acids, salts, metals, etc., after the poisonous 
substance itself has been removed from the stomach by 
means of vomiting, etc. 

Milk is frequently alluded to as an antidote for poisons ; 
but it has no real merit. Mucilaginous substances are 
better, and much to be preferred. 

Olive-oil ranks with milk, and is much less useful than is 
beheved. It is useless in metalUc poisons, and even hurtful 
in poisoning with arsenic. It is of some service, however, 
in case of poisoning either with nitric^ sulphuric^ or pJios- 
pJioric add. Olive-oil and vinegar, administered in alter- 
nation, have proved serviceable in cases of poisoning with 
alkalies. 

jSoa2J. — Castile soap, dissolved in fom' times its bulli of 
hot water, and drank, will antidote many cases of poisoning 
with corrosive sublimate, and also with arsenic, or with any 
of the numerous forms of lead. Soapsuds is likewise a 
valuable antidote for poisoning with sulphuric and niti'ic 
acid. Soap is hmlful in cases of poisoning with alkalies. 

Sugar, or sugar-water, is quite as good as any of the 
antidotes, and much to be preferred in cases of poisoning 
with paint, verdigris, copper, sulphate of copper, alum, etc. 
In cases of corrosive sublimate, in solution, being taken 
into the stomach by mistake, as it has been, sugar-water 
may be given before the white of an egg. Sugar is also an 
excellent antidote in cases of poisoning with arsenic. The 
other antidotes are : — 

Ammoniacal gas, or the volatile odor of spirits of harts- 
horn, for poisoning Avith alcohol, bitter almonds, or prussic 
acid. 

Iron-rust, or the sesqui-oxide of iron, for poisoning with 
arsenic. 

Epsom salt, for the various alkaline poisons. 



Poisons y and their Antidotes. 363 

Charcoal, for poisoning with putrid fish, meat, or mush- 
rooms, or mussels. 

Kitchen salt, for poisoning with nitrate of silver, and 
oisonous wounds. 

Magnesia, for poisoning with any of the mineral acids. 

Potash and sweet almond oil are also good antidotes for 
acids. 

Starch, in solution, is the best antidote for poisoning with 
iodine. 

Strong tea is a good antidote for poisoning with honey ; 
and so is wine for noxious vapors and poisonous mush- 
rooms. 

A general antidote for poisoning, in which the nature of 
the poison is unknown, consists of equal parts of calcined 
magnesia, pulverized charcoal, and hydrated peroxide of 
ii'on, which are to be diffused in water, and given freely. 
Although these articles are simple and innocent in their 
operation on the system, they will probably prove efficient, 
as one or another of them is an antidote to most of the 
mineral poisons. 

The albumen of eggs and tannic acid are also general 
antidotes of great value. But, if we should know the poison 
to be mineral or metallic, the first resort may be to white 
of egg, sugar-water, soap-water, or soapsuds, and for the 
remaining effects give sulphur, wiiich has been ascertained 
to be a real antidote to the effects of metallic poisons. If 
it should be known that acids or corrosive substances have 
been taken give Castile soap mixed with four times its bulk 
in warm water, or magnesia dissolved in water, or powdered 
chalk stirred up in water, or a solution of saleratus, pearlash, 
or super-carbonate of soda, in spoonful doses, after each 
parox3^sm of vomiting, as long as it continues ; and after- 
wards give mucilaginous drinks, and, alternately, coffee and 
opium. In case it should be known that allialine substances 



364 WomarHs Medical Compaftion, 

have been swallowed in poisonous quantities vinegar and 
water may be liberally given, and also lemon-juice or cran- 
berry-sauce, or sour milk, without sugar ; and for the second- 
ar}^ effects of poisoning with potash give coffee or powdered 
vegetable charcoal. If the poisoning is known to be the effects 
of spirits of hartshorn give sulphur; if it should be known the 
patient had been inhaling noxious vapors bathe him freely 
with vinegar and water, and let him inhale the vapor of a 
solution of hydrochloric acid ; and, after a return to full 
consciousness, give a strong decoction of partially-charred 
coffee. 

The vapors of coal, when having a poisonous effect, may 
be antidoted b}'' copious draughts of vinegar and water ; and 
for poisoning b}^ any substance not mentioned first follow 
the rule of removing the poison from the stomach by vomit- 
ing ; if it is known that any of the anhnal poisons have been 
taken into the stomach give a teaspoonful of powdered 
charcoal in half a tumbler of water at a dose, and repeat 
after each vomiting until the stomach becomes quiet ; and 
if a poison of this kind has come in contact with the eyes 
give aconite ; and, finally to guard against the infection of 
poisonous wounds, when touched with the fingers or hand, 
let thein be held in strong heat, as strong as can be borne, 
for ten or fifteen minutes, and afterwards wash them with 
soap. 



Uterine Displacements y etc, 365 



CHAPTEE XYI. 

UTERINE DISPLACEMENTS, FUNGOID GROWTHS, 
TUMORS, ETC. 

"We had thought, at the first inception of this work, that, 
in deference to the inherent delicac}^ of our fair readers, 
and their natural reluctance to enter upon the discussion of 
affections connected with the female reproductive organs, 
we would omit any special reference to them in this volume ; 
but, in view of the lamentable fact that, from want of 
proper acquaintance with the peculiarities of their own sys- 
tem, from negligence or from constitutional weakness, fully 
five-sixths of the female sex throughout the world are suf- 
fering, to a greater or less extent, from vm^ious affections of 
the luomb; and that to this cause alone is to be attributed 
the unhealthy, enervated condition and susceptibilit}^ to 
disease evinced in both parents and children, — for this 
reason, we, after consultation with several of our most 
experienced medical brethren, determined that, as a mat- 
ter of common humanity and sympathy, it was our duty 
to present, in the most decorous, unobjectionable, and 
easily understood method that language would permit, a 
brief explanation of the nature, S3''mptoms, and hj^gienic 
treatment of these affections, so that they might, to a great 
extent, prevent, or, at any rate, lessen, the inconvenience 
and suffering so generally and so uncomplainingly sustained 
b}" women. We are indebted to the generous courtesy 
of our eminent and talented brother. Dr. Ephraim Cutter, 
of New York, for the use of the admirable diagrams with 



366 



IVopiaus Medical Companion, 



which this chapter is embellished (with the exception of the 
fii'st figui'e). Feeling convinced that our lad^^ readers will 
accept the few following remarks in the respectful, sj^mpa- 
thetic, and trustful spirit in which they are wi'itten, and 
credit us with an earnest desii'e to promote their best inter- 
ests, while avoiding every term or allusion which should 
offend their sense of propriet}^, we will now venture on the 
consideration of 







Fig. I.— Pelvic Organs in position. Bladder distended. Womb virgin. 



Uterme Displacements y etc, 367 



I>ISPi:,ACEMEXTS OF THE UTERUS OR WOMB. 

The accompanying illustration (Fig. 1) represents the 
womb in its natural position in the uterine organism, with 
its adjacent organs and theh' relative action. But, from 
congenital or constitutional weakness, accidental or other 
causes, it is subject to various displacements, such as 

Descent of the womb, or Prolapsus Uteri. 

Retroversion of the uterus, or falling backwards of the 
womb. 

Retroflexion of the uterus, or bending backward of the 
womb. 

Reti'oversion and flexion, or bending and falling back- 
ward. 

Anteversion of the uterus, or falhng forward of the 
womb. 

Anteflexion of the uterus, or bending forward of the 
womb. 

Anteversion and anteflexion, or bending and falling 
forward. 

Latero-version and latero-flexion or displacement side- 
ways. 



368 



Woman's Medical Compajiion. 




Fig. 2. RZTKOVZBSION. 



RETROVERSION OF THE TVOIWB. 

This form of displacement is (excepting prolapse, or fall- 
ing of the womb) the most frequent in occurrence. It 
xareh' occurs as a disease, but is usualh' an accompaniment 
or s}"mptom of the presence of inflammatorj^ action in the 
uterus, or of an increase in its size and weight ; in other 
words, it is usually caused by parturition, general muscular 
debility, or habits of indolence and inacti^it3^ It frequently 
occurs as a consequence of pregnancy, congestion, the 
presence of fibroid tumors, a fall or other injury, or the 
l^ressure of the viscera down upon the fundus b}' tight 
clothing or muscular efforts. The absurd practice of tight 
bandaging after parturition, and makin»; the patient lie 
upon her back continually, instead of on her side, is almost 
certain to cause this displacement. Retroversion may 
either hejxirtial or complete. 

Symx^toins, — The most strongly marked symptom in- 



Uterine Displacements y etc. 



369 



dicative of retroversion of the uterus is found in the difR- 
cultj of emptjing the bladder, accompanied with pain and 
tenesmus, alwa3'S more or less present. Next to this is the 
pressure of the rectum, and consequent frequent calls to 
stool, with difficulty or impossibility of evacuation. These 
fru'O symptoms, especially the retention of urine, render the 
displacement dangerous and painfully distressing ; while 
the accumulation of fecal matter renders the restoration to 
its natural position a matter of extreme difficulty. A 
gnawing or other pain in the back, backache, difficult}^ in 
walking, inabilitj^ to stand for an}?- length of time, nausea 
and vomiting, even to a violent degree, may set in, and 
unless the patient is promptly relieved she may sink under 
the accumulation of her sufferings. 




Fig. 3. RZTUOFLEXION. 



370 Woman's Medical Compa^iion, 



RETROFIiEXIOlV OF THE TTOMB. 

' This form of displacement consists in the bending back- 
ward of the fundus and bod}^ of the womb toward the 
hollow of the spinal column, the womb being bent in such a 
way that the cervix or neck is not removed from its normal 
position, or is but slight!}^ deviated from it. It is generally 
the result of a weakness of the uterine tissues, in con- 
sequence of which the body of the womb, either tln'ough its 
inherent weight, whether natural or preternatural, or in 
consequence of some force or pressm'e applied to it, is bent 
at the junction of the neck or ceiwix. Eetroflexion occurs 
most frequently in women who have borne children, and 
seldom in the \T.rgin uterus. 

Symptoms. — Irritability of the rectum is one of the 
chief s^-mptoms ; and if the pressm^e upon the intestines be 
great, retention of stool will be a natm^al consequence. Neu- 
ralgia of the womb may occur as a result of the congestion 
and nervous compression, and so-called uterine colic ma}^ 
occur from a retention of the secretion of the intra-uterine 
mucous membrane. If the retroflexion exist in a marked 
degi'ee, so as to close up the uterine canal, dysmenorrhoea 
and sterility will be the consequence. 

treatme:^'t of retroversio^t aat> retroflexioiv. 

There are certain cases of Eetroflexion which are unman- 
ageable, and entirely be3'ond the control of the ph^'sician 
or the patient — for instance, those which have become 
chronic, and are surrounded with aggravated circumstances, 
causing includable insanit}', a peimanent and agonizing 
derangement of the nervous sj'stem. 

In ordinary or cui'able cases of Eetroversion or Eetro- 
flexion, it is essential to cure that the uterus and vagina 
should be restored to their normal position and maintained 
in that position by means mechanically adapted to the parts 



Uterine Displacements, etc. 



371 



allowing of the normal contraction of the vaginal fibres, 
and permitting a natural degree of mobilit}^ Special care 
should be taken that the Instruments emploj^ed should be 
manageable by the patient, and that general health should 
be maintained by ample nutriment. The catheter should 
be used regularly twice per day, until the uterus rises above 
the pelvis. The catheter should be small, flat, and curved 
considerabl}^ more than common, in consequence of the dis- 
torted course of the urethra. The bowels must be kept 
open, and absolute rest, in a recumbent posture, be en- 
joined. Should it be impracticable to draw off the urine, 
attempts must be made to replace the uterus by the medical 
practitioner who has the case in charge. 




Fig. 4. Retroversion and Flexion. 
RETBOVERSIOIV A]\I> RETROFt.EXIO]V COMBIIVEI>. 

Here the vagina is so much relaxed that the retroflexed 
uterus is thi'own down as much as the sacrum and rectum 



372 Wommi^s Medical Companion. 

"svlU allow. This combination is very frequentl}^ found. It 
interferes with defecation to a greater extent than the two 
yarieties previousl}^ described. It is more difficult to treat. 
In all these cases the patient should recline on a bed raised 
at the foot. The treatment should be similar to that akeady 
given. 




Fig. 5. Ajjteversion. 
AIVTEVERSIOjV of the ITOMB. 

This displacement, although it does sometunes occur, is 
comparatively rare in single women or those who have not 
borne children. The normal position of the womb is slightly 
forward, so that the natm-al tendency, in the event of preg- 
nancy or undue exertion, is to fall forward rather than back- 
ward. But it is sometimes so morbidly increased as to give 
rise to some verj^ unpleasant and painful s^miptoms. It may 
be considered in a condition of unnatural anteversion when 
it lies across the pelvis, with its neck in the hollow of the 
sacrum, and the fundus encroaching upon the bladder. An- 
teversion may be combined with flexion at the junction of 



Uterine Displacements^ etc. 



373 



the cervix with the bod}^, in which case the fundus is thrown 
still more forward and downward. 

Symptoms. — This form of displacement may come 
on gradualh', and can be distinguished readily from pro- 
lapse b}^ the yaginal touch, the body of the womb l^ing in 
a horizontal line across the pelvis. It may occur suddenly ; 
and in this case the S3^nptoms closely resemble those of 
prolapsus, or falUng of the womb. It gives rise to very un- 
pleasant urinar}^ sj^nptoms, and occasions more or less irri- 
tation of the rectal passage, constipation, and hemorrhoids. 
In some cases walking is rendered extremely difficult and 
even impossible. But the urinary disturbance is the most 
annoying, and prompts the woman to call in the aid of her 
physician. 




Pig. 6. Anteixexion. 



AlVTEFLiEXIOIV OF THE WOMB. 

This derangement is of common occurrence, and differs 
from ante version, in that while the fundus and body of the 



374 Woman's Medical Companion. 

uterus are directed downward and forward, the neck or 
cer\ix retains its proper position, or nearly so, although 
flexion of the uterus forward may comprise a bending in that 
direction of both body and neck at the point of junction of 
the two, the bending being in some cases nearly at an acute 
angle. Or, in other cases, while the bod}^ of the uterus 
retains its proper position, or nearly so, the cervix or neck 
becomes bent and extended forward toward the pubes. 

Symptoms. — The S3^mptoms produced by anteflexion 
are similar to those of anteversion, though generally rectal 
and vesical irritation are not so great. In consequence, 
however, of the bending of the womb, very serious sj^mp- 
toms may arise, which are the results of various diseases 
which this abnormal position may originate. D^^smenorrhoea 
is almost a constant attendant ; congestion of the womb 
may occur, and occasion a variety of diseased conditions, 
corporeal and cervical endometritis may be set up, and 
from pressure or other cause even peritonitis may result. 

The same causes which occasion anteversion maj^ operate 
to produce anteflexion, previously existing weakness of the 
uterine tissue at the junction of the cervix and body of the 
uterus being premised. 

Treatment of Anteversion and Anteflex- 
ion. — In the treatment of these forms of displacement 
the patient must remain quiet, in a reclining position as 
much as possible, and, in severe cases, keep her bed and 
lie upon her back for a few daj^s. In those cases only in 
which the fundus is actually thrown beneath the arch of 
the pubes will there be any necessity for manual interfer- 
ence. A patient sufl'ering from this aflection should not 
urinate too often, as by moderatel}^ distending the bladder 
she will greatly assist nature in the replacement of the 
womb. The health being once restored, the womb will nat- 
urally resume its normal position. 



Uterifie Displacemc7its, etc. 



375 




Fig. 7. Ain-EViHSiow and FiiExioN. 



AIVTEVERSIOIV AW© AlVTEFIiEXIOIV COMBrSfED. 

These constitute a formidable combination against suc- 
cessful treatment. The uterus forms a portion of the 
vaginal dome, reaching from the pubes in front, upwards, to 
be3'ond the middle of the highest point of the vagina. The 
uterus being so excessively flabby and yielding, every part 
is so much out of line as to render its normal replacement a 
matter of great difficulty. If the uterus is hypertrophied 
remedies should first be applied to reduce the size of the 
organ. Depletion or blood-letting (by appl3ing two or three 
leeches) is one of the most prompt and successful agents in 
restoring contractihtj". The most frequent sequences to 
this combination are the irritable intra-uterine ulcer, and 
the doubling of the uterus over the pessary (if that instru- 
ment be used) , which we disapprove. 

It frequentl}^ occurs that the uterus shifts its position so 
readily that the patient ma}^ suffer alternately from all the 
displacements we have mentioned, the ligaments being so 



376 



Woma7i's Medical Companioii. 



much relaxed that the womb cannot remain in one position 
for any length of time. In such cases it is best to convert 
it into a reti-oversion at once, allowing the organ to be 
slightl}' turned back, so as to be less liable to be thi'own 
forwards duiino- the bodv movements. 



riATEKO-VERSIOIS. 

There are two varieties of this displacement, but they are 
rare. They may be found associated with prolapsus (or 
falling), or with the backward and forward displacements, 
and result either in consequence of inflammator}' conditions, 
unnatural weight, or direct pressm'e. The patient should 
be dii'ected to he upon the side opposite to that of the ob- 
liquity, and to keep at rest as much as possible. 




rig. 8. Prolapsus Utehi. 
PROILAPSrS rTERI, OR FAXLIXG OF THE TVOMB. 

This is one of the most common fonns of uterine dis- 
placement. It occurs in three different degrees, which we 



Uterme Displacements, etc. Zll 

Tvill briefl}' describe. Thus, relaxation or simple descent of 
the icomh is understood to indicate the first and least dis- 
placement downward, and to consist onl}^ in a simple bear- 
ing-down of the womb upon the upper portion of the vagina. 
In 2>^'olapsus uteri the organ comes still lower down, and 
may even present itself at the lower orifice of the vagina. 
li\ procidentia uteri there is actual protrusion of the organ, 
even the entire body of the womb being in some cases ex- 
tended from the vulva. These are but diff'erent degrees of 
the descent of the uterus in the line of the vagina. Upon 
examination of the same displaced uterus at different times 
of the da}' it will be found more or less prolapsed, accord- 
ing to the condition of active exercise or quiet in which the 
parts may have been for some hours previous. 

Symptoms. — The principal indications are, dragging 
and aching pains in the small of the back ; pulling and 
bearing-down pains in the lower part of the abdomen ; a 
sensation of expulsion from the vagina ; suff'erings much 
greater after walking or other exercise ; frequent calls to 
urinate, and incontinence or retention of the urine. 

The primary cause of prolapse or descent is, of course, 
the excessive relaxation of the peritoneum and broad liga- 
ments, bj" which the womb is retained in its proper position. 
(See Fig. 4, p. 25.) The system generall}^ being much de- 
bilitated, the slightest strain or extra exertion increases the 
descent more and more, and renders recover}^ more doubtful. 
Persons of a scrofulitic temperament are especially liable to 
the afi'ection ; and, far more than all other causes combined, 
carelessness or improper treatment at and after confinement, 
are direct agents in producing this displacement. The want 
of prompt attention to the primary' s3'mptoms, and omitting 
to seek medical advice, would speedily transform the afiec- 
tion into a chronic displacement. 



378 Woman's Medical Companion, 



IWTERSIOIV OF THE UTERUS 

is the most formidable and dangerous, as it is fortunately 
the rarest, form of displacement. It occurs principally as 
an accident in connection with delivery. When the inver- 
sion is complete the womb is turned entu'ely inside out, and 
protrudes beyond the orifice of the vulva, the mucous lining 
membrane consequently becoming the external covering. 
This naturally occasions a very serious complication of all the 
uterine organs, dragging the Fallopian tubes, ovaries, and 
bladder out of their natural position (see Fig. 4, p. 25), 
causing excruciating distress and derangement in each of the 
organs involved, and profound depression of the nervous sj'S- 1 
tem and vital strength. The presence of polypi, tumors, or' 
malignant growths considerably increase the danger, not 
only ft-om the unhealthy nature of the cause itself, and the 
fact that it may only be a development of still more serious 
forms of disease, but from the hemorrhage it may occasion. 

TKEATME]VT. 

The inverted womb should be carefully reduced, and the 
whole organ replaced in the pelvis, with as little and as 
gentle manipulation as possible. The patient should remain 
in bed in the position most comfortable to her, receiving 
such medicines as are best calculated to contribute to the 
functional and structural rehabilitation. 

[In all affections of the womb the physician should be 
summoned without delaj', the points of treatment we have 
mentioned being only of a temporary or provisional char- 
acter. In an organism so delicate, sensitive, and complicated 
in structure, the slightest act of ignorance, recklessness, or 
nervous anxiet}" on the part of the nurse or friend in attend- 
ance (other than the physician) may be attended with the 
most serious or fatal consequences.] 



Uterine Displacements ^ etc. 379 



THE IMMEMATE EFFECTS OF THESE DISFXiACEMElVTS 

are by no means confined to the uterus. They drag or 
force out of position every other organ within the trunk. 
A general derangement and disorganization ensue, and 
Uver, spleen, heart, intestines, and kidneys are all involved, 
sympathetically and mechanically, in the disturbance. The 
machiner}^ is entirely put out of order by this one neglected 
displacement, and, if not instantly attended to, will, in all 
probabiht}', result in the most serious if not fatal, organic 
difficulty, and ultimate prostration or death. 



CANCERS, TUMORS, FUJVGOI© GROWTHS, ABSCESSES, 
ETC., TN THE ORGANS OF GENERATION. 

The reproductive organs are so constructed as to render 
them hable to a variety of complaints, which are apt to 
excite alarm in the mind of the female, however free from 
actual danger some of them may in reality be. Women, 
especially those who are married, when laboring under 
affections of these parts, are often kept in a state of great 
anxiet}^, until they are made acquainted with the exact 
nature of the difficulty, and that it will not be attended with 
danger. On this account, if for no other reason, every 
woman should be acquainted with the diseases to which 
they are incident, and thus, in a measure, be enabled to 
preserve their peace of mind, avoid the causes which tend 
to them, and be enabled to obtain a timely application of 
the necessary remedies. 

The attention of our readers will naturally first be drawn 
to 



380 Woman's Medical Companion. 



AFFECTIOIVS OF THE EXTERIVAIi GEIVEKATIVE 
ORGAiVS. 

The Labia Majora, or Outer liips, are, on account 
of their looseness of texture, subject to considerable en- 
largement or swelling, from comparatively slight irritation. 
It frequently happens with persons who neglect the daily 
washing of the parts during and after the menstrual flow, 
producing acrid secretions and intolerable itching ; and, if 
scratching or rubbing is used for the purpose of allaying the 
irritation,- the parts become much swollen and inflamed. 
The same remarks will apply to the N^yonphse, or inner 
lips. 

ABSCESSES OF THE liABIA 

sometimes occur, which are extremely painful, and are 
usually caused by blows, falls, forcible intercourse, or 
casual injuries of au}^ kind, and sometimes from an inflam- 
matory condition of the body, without any other cause. 
The sj^mptoms are heat, swelling, redness, and throbbing 
pain in the part, extending to the groin and down the 
thigh ; there is a circumscribed hardness, and the part is 
exquisitely tender. The treatment comprises rest and quiet, 
the application of leeches or poultices, according to the 
special sj^mptoms, and brisk purgatives. Another afi'ection 
to which they are subject is the formation of 



ENCYSTED AIVD TIARTY TUMORS, 

both of which var}^ in size from that of a pea to a turkej^'s 
egg. The warty tumors are distinguished b}^ having a 
pedicle or stem, and are apt to spread internally ; but they 
are neither painful nor tender, and are onlj^ inconvenient 
from their size. In many cases they are of venereal origin, 



Uterine Displacements ^ etc. 381 

and frequentl}^ degenerate into unhealth}^ sores or ulcers. 
The treatment for their removal is necessarily surgical. 



THE ClilTORIS 

is subject to certain diseased or abnormal conditions, and 
local inflammations. It is sometimes the seat of 



CABTCEROUS GROWTHS A1VI> GI^AWDTTXiAR EIVIiARGE- 

MEIVT. 

If cancers exist there is no alternative but excision by 
the knife ; if there be malformation or enlargement of the 
part it is frequently found necessary to resort to amputation 
of the organ ; but simple and uncomplicated inflammatory 
conditions will soon succumb to cooling and astringent 
lotions. 



TUMORS, ABSCESSES, AlVD THICKEIVING OF THE MEM- 
BRA]VE 

also invade the orifice of the urethra, the pelvis, exterior 
to the vaginal canal, and the space between the vagina and 
rectum. 



THE IlVTERlVAIi ORGANS OF GEjVERATIOIV 

are subject to a much greater and more appalling variety 
of affections and complications ; and, from their being so 
intimately connected with every other section of the human 
system, so entirely disorganize and derange the functions of 
the body, that they may truly be said to originate three- 
fourths of the diseases of which the female frame is 
susceptible. 

Married women frequently suffer from 



382 Woman's Medical Companio7i. 



EUETATION, OIMOBBLITT, AIVB HERXIA OF THE UTERI'S 
AJijy OVARIES. 

Elevation of the uterus is caused by abscess or insuffi- 
ciency of the ligaments, dropsy of the ovaries, displace- 
ments of the uterus, and the presence of hydatids and other 
growths. Immobility is caused by peritoneal adhesions, or 
inflammation of the neighboring organs. Scrofulous women, 
girls of a lymphatic temperament, those who practise mas- 
turbation, and those who suffer from severe constipation, 
are especially liable to it. Hernia of the womb is fortunately 
a very rare affection, the tumor being hard, of a roundish 
form, and scarcely capable of reduction. There are three 
descriptions ofthis hernial trouble, called the m5fMJ?ia?,whenit 
makes its appearance in the groin ; the crural, when it 
appears on the thigh ; and the ventral, when it takes place 
in the gra^-id uterus, through an accidental separation of the 
abdominal muscles. It originates from relaxation or weak- 
ness of the ligaments, a violent blow, or contusion, etc. 
The ovaries are subject to six different kinds of hernia, viz. : 
the inguinal, crural, and ventral; the iscliiatic, when it 
appears near the loins ; the ^nnhilical, when the protrusion 
takes place at the navel, and the vaginal or rectal, when it 
takes place in those organs. These tumors are caused by 
tight-lacing, undue compression, wounds and abscesses, 
and -violent emotion or crying. The treatment is purely 
surgical. 

BISPI.ACE5EEXT OF THE BI.ADDER, 

or rather its protrusion into the vagina and external labia, 
is a very frequent and annoying affection. Fig. 1, in our 
chapter on uterine displacements, will plainly show the con- 
nection between the vagina and bladder, and the means by 
which the accident may arise. The predisposing causes 



Uterme Displacements ^ etc, 383 

are : an excess! vel}' large pelvis, nuiiiGrous pregnancies, 
violent exertion of the muscles, leucorrhoea, retention of 
urine, an abuse of sexual indulgence, or warm bathing, tight- 
lacing and the use of busks, general debilit}^ and peculiar 
conformation. The principal exciting causes are : parturi- 
tion, violent exertion of an}' kind, coughing, vomiting, 
excessive dancing, etc. It is more common in women who 
have borne children. 

The tumor presents itself usually within the vaginal 
canal, or just outside the vulva ; it is bluish, with a pohshed 
surface, when the bladder is distended ; and at other times 
is wrinkled and soft. It is frequently complicated with 
various displacements and inflammations of the womb. 
When it occurs in a pregnant woman it may become so 
large as to prevent the delivery of the infant. 



BISPIiACEMENT OF THE IIVTESTHVES KVTO THE TAGIXA, 

arises from the same causes as prolapse of the bladder ; but 
is much more amenable to treatment, and is not attended 
with such disagreeable or disastrous consequences. 



PROI.APSIJS OF THE VAGINA 

means a turning inside out of the lining membrane of that 
organ. It may be either complete or incomplete. In the 
former the tumor projects more or less beyond the vulva ; 
in the latter it remains within the vaginal orifice. The 
predisposing causes are Ij^mphatic temperament, chronic 
leucorrhoea, frequent childbearing or abortion, abuse of hot 
bathing and of warm, relaxing drinks, bad nutrition, and 
general debilit}'. It may be immediately brought on by 
abuse of marital privileges, injury during labor, external 
violence, excessive efforts of any kind, etc. It is a very 



384 Woman! s Medical Companion. 

troublesome affection, and may become dangerous during 
labor. 



MOLES, HYDATIDS, AND FAXiSE CONCEPTIONS 

are growths within the cavity of the uterus, originating in 
the destruction of the foetus a short time after conception. 
The causes of this destruction may be found in general de- 
bility, mental and bodily shocks, and iiTegularities of the 
nervous and circulatory systems. The foetus is seldom 
retained in the womb more than two or three months, but if 
not then expelled, it becomes transformed into the fleshy 
mole. These moles and hydatids are found, sometimes 
singl}', varying in size from a pea to a grape ; and some- 
times m clusters, attached by a stem, to the outside of the 
ovum and placenta. They are necessarily consequent upon 
sexual intercourse and impregnation, and are simply blighted 
or imperfect conceptions. The symptoms exactly re- 
semble those of ]3regnancy, and can only be distinguished 
therefrom by the absence of foetal movement and pulsation. 

FIBROUS TUMORS OF UTERUS AlVD OVARIES. 

This appellation is applied to a species of fleshy tumor 
attached to the body of the uterus, and consisting of a 
mass of irregulfir fibres, bound together by cellular tissue, 
w^hich do not ulcerate or become malignant. They vary 
in size from that of a pea to a man's head, and have 
been known to weigh as much as forty pounds. Thc}^ are 
usually found in persons of a h^mphatic or scrofulous tem- 
perament, and may be caused by chronic leucorrhoea, 
celibac}^, barrenness, abortion, and from too close application 
to sedentary emplo^'ments. They are mostly met with 
between the ages of thirt}' and fifty. When these are 
present, conception is possible, but abortion at the third 



Uterine Displacements, etc. 385 

or fourth month will most probably follow ; if pregnancy 
proceeds to the full term there is great danger of flooding. 



POIiYPUS OF THE TJTERUS. 

This description of tumor is similar in structure to the 
fibrous, but differs in form, situation, and S3'mptoms. They 
may be attached to any x>art .oi the uterus, vary in size, 
shape, and color, and are accompanied by a leucorrhoeal or 
hemorrhagic discharge, according to the stage of growth. 
The appetite becomes impaired, bowels relaxed, and dropsy 
of the extremities is frequently induced. They are oval or 
pjTamidal in shape, and appear both singly and in clusters. 



CATJIilFIiOWER EXCRESCENCES OF THE UTERUS 

are usually found at its mouth, and are met with in women 
of all ages, temperaments and conditions of life, married and 
unmarried, without regard to habits or residence. They are 
mostly hereditary or congenital in origin, very vascular, of a 
bright, fleshy color, with a smooth or slightly granulated sur- 
face, upon which are numerous small projections. They 
vaiy in size from a strawberry to a bulk sufficient to fill the 
entire vaginal orifice, and are alwaj^s attended by more or 
less hemorrhage and watery discharge. They bleed freely 
upon being touched, and if extirpated, grow again with 
great rapidit3^ The stomach and bowels become much dis- 
ordered, and the patient is liable at any time to die from 
drops}', or effusion into some of the great cavities of the 
body. 

Cancers and corroding ulcers of the uterus and ovaries 
are diseases of the most serious and excruciating character, 
which, unfortunately for the sufferers, are seldom detected 
and treated in their earlier stages ; consequently they have 



386 Woman's Medical Companion, 



been classed among the incurable diseases. They are| 
malignant and contagious in their character, poisoning the I 
glands, tissues, and fluids of the body and adjacent organs j 
as they come in contact with them. They are generally! 
accompanied by hemorrhage and leucorrhoea, and, from| 
the severity and critical character of the affection, demand j 
the most skilful treatment that medical science can afford. 
They may be found in almost any part of the uterine, 
ovarian, and abdominal regions, and are so varied in their 
appearance, form, and character, that even to attempt a 
description of them would require space far beyond the 
limits of this volume. 



Change of Life. 387 



CHAPTEE XYII. 

THE CHANGE OF LIFE. 

By this phrase, or the " critical period," as it is some- 
times termed, is understood the final cessation of menstru- 
ation, and, consequently, the capacity for childbearing. 
Popular opinion fixes the time for this change at about the 
forty-fifth year, and all women anticipate its occurrence 
about that time ; but many are disappointed, for some 
women have been known to cease to flow at the thirtieth 
or thirty-second year, while others have continued to men- 
struate to the fiftieth year, or even later ; but, as a general 
thing, the average period of its occurrence may fairly be 
fixed at the age of forty-five. 

Women of delicate constitutions, and those who have 
been in the habit of living well, enjoying the good things 
of life, and whose occupations have been sedentary, who 
have been confined to the house, and especially to warm 
rooms, experience the change earlier than those of a more 
robust organization, or those who have led a temperate, 
active life, avoiding all dissipation. 

This period of life, which is rightl}^ considered a critical 
one for every female, may pass without a single untoward 
sj^mptom, the monthlj^ evacuation gradually ceasing, with- 
out being attended by any unpleasant consequence, and 
leaving the patient enjoying better health than she ever ex- 
perienced before. On the contrary, it may be fraught with 
peril, through which she can be safely conducted only by a 
skilful and experienced physician. It is, therefore, highly 



388 WomatCs Medical Companion. 

important that all the unpleasant sensations which ma}' be 
experienced during this time should receive a careful con- 
sideration, and not be hushed up with the unsatisfactory 
reply that such complaints are owing to the " change of 
life," and likely to vanish whenever that change shall 
become complete. 

If proper attention is not paid to the various affections 
which may and frequently do manifest themselves during 
this period, the seeds of endless miseries and even early 
death will be allowed to germinate and cut short a life that, 
b}' proper foresight and care, might have been conducted to 
a ripe old age. As the change approaches, the menses 
gradually become iiTegular, both in regard to the time of 
their recurrence, and the quantity discharged. They may 
return too soon, or be delayed be3'ond the usual time. The 
quantity discharged is at times much less than common. 
Sometimes the discharge returns every two weeks, then 
ceases for several weeks, or even months, and afterward 
recurs for a few periods as regularly as ever, and then 
ceases altogether. 

Perhaps, in the majority of women, while this change, 
which usuall}^ extends over a j^ear or a 3'ear and a half, is 
in progress, there is more or less disturbance of the general 
health. It is often difficult, and even impossible, to say 
exactl}' what is the matter with the patient, except that she 
is generall}^ out of health. A host of sjTnptoms present 
themselves ; the patient complains of headache, vertigo, 
biliousness, indigestion, flatulenc}', acidity of the stomach, 
diarrhoea, costiveness, irregularity in the urinar}^ discharge, 
piles, pruritus, violent itching of the privates, cramps and 
colics in the abdomen, palpitation of the heart, ner\'Ousness, 
pains in the back and loins, swelling of the abdomen and 
the extremities, paleness and general debility. To unravel 
all these, and to decide what is the best plan of treatment 



Change of Life, 389 



to pursue, requires the skill of an intelligent physician. 
Remedies Nos. 117 and 157 will be found effective. It is 
ver}^ important in these cases to pay strict attention to 
dress, diet, and exercise. The diet should be light and 
easily digested. Ever3i;hing of a stimulating nature, unless 
ordered by the attending ph3'sician, should be studiously 
avoided. Daily exercise in the open air, either by walking 
or riding, will be found highl}^ beneficial. The clothing 
should be warm and comfortable, and changed to suit the 
weather. 

OIiI> AGE A]VI> ITS DISEASES. 

Life, like the natural da}', has its morning, its noon, and 
its evening ; and its decline, unlike the period of j'outh and 
manhood, is marked by a calm, quiet stillness and peaceful 
repose. The decline of old age reverses the natural order 
of growth, the waste of tissue and nerve force gradually 
but surely outstripping the addition resulting from the food 
taken into the body daity. Declining age may be said to 
extend from fifty to sixty. Incipient old age from sixty to 
seventy. Ripe old age from seventy to eighty, and decrepi- 
tude or second infancy from eighty to the close of life. 
During all these periods, particularly the latter, important 
structural and other changes are occurring in the human 
sj'stem, and piles, apoplexy, paralysis, diseases of the 
liver, kidney's, and bladder, with organic changes of the 
heart, drops}', chronic affections of the respiratory organs, 
gout, etc., frequently present themselves. 

There is an hygiene for old age as well as for youth, — 
a means of preserving health, which may lengthen out their 
days to the utmost limit without the intervention of any 
of these affections which we have named. The first essen- 
tial is regular habits. Any sudden cessation of a practice 
long indulged in, such as the use of tobacco or an}^ narcotic, 



890 Woman'' s Medical Companio7i. 

ardent spirits, or malt liquors, will often prove fatal to the 
aged. Even the hours of taking meals should not be 
changed ; nor should old people transfer their residence to 
new climates, or form new social relations, their decreased 
vitality being insufficient to sustain the altered physical and 
mental conditions. 

Diet and Reg'imen. — This is by far the most 
essential item in maintaining the healthy condition of those 
who have passed life's meridian. We need scarcely say 
that special attention in the selection of food easy of 
digestion is a primary requisite. Plain boiled or roasted 
meats are frequently unsuitable, — they should alwaj^s be 
finely chopped, and thoroughly cooked. Soups and milk 
are excellent articles of diet ; and, in moderation^ ripe fruits, 
and plain puddings and pies are not objectionable. Vege- 
tables should be sparingly partaken of. Wine, good and 
pure, if judiciously administered, will be found beneficial in 
cases of unduly diminished vitality. But, above all things, 
the aged should be cautious never to eat to excess or 
repletion ; they should eat slowly, and chew their food very 
thoroughly. 

Aged people suffer YQvy much from cold hands and feet, 
and indeed from languid circulation and low temperature 
generally. The heart and muscular system usually 
becomes feeble and relaxed. The clothing of elderly 
people should therefore be much thicker and warmer than 
that worn in youth and manhood. We must prevent 
the escape of what little animal heat there is by flannel 
worn next the skin, and by woollen clothes generally, 
they being bad conductors of heat. It is during winter 
nights that the old are apt to suffer most from cold. If the 
bed clothing is not sufficient to create the required amount 
of warmth, artificial heat, in the shape of a heated stone, 
or bottle of warm water, should be applied. 



Change of Life. 391 



A far greater number of aged people die in winter than 
in summer or fall. For this reason they should be very 
careful how they expose themselves to frequent and sudden 
changes of temperature, or inclement weather. 

Important as the care of the skin is to the health of 
persons at all periods of life, it is especially so in old age. 
In the decline of life, the scarf-skin exhibits a tendency to 
become drj- and peel off ; this may be prevented by frequent 
and regular ablution in tepid water, followed by brisk 
rubbing, or if the skin be too tender for the application 
of water, friction alone can be emploj'ed, either by the 
naked hand, a piece of soft flannel, or a flesh-brush. In 
rubbing the abdomen, the rubbing should be across, from 
right to left, in order to remove or obviate constipation or 
flatulence. Exercise of any kind — walking, riding or 
working — should be used in the greatest moderation, as 
great fatigue would always prove injurious. Aged people 
should get as much sleep as they feel to want, from eight to 
ten hours out of the t wenty-foui' being by no means too much. 
They should always retii'e earl}'. Many aged people suffer 
considerably from inability to sleep ; but, for all that, the use 
of narcotics should be avoided as much as possible. A 
great deal may be often effected by taking early and light 
suppers. Earl}' rising and exercise in the open air will 
generall}' produce refreshing sleep at night. With many 
persons electricity, moderately indulged in, of course under 
the ad^-ice of a physician, will be found to have an extremely 
beneficial effect. 



APPENDICES 



APPENDICES. 



Appendices A and B are intended as an intelligent and 
infallible guide to the interpretation of symptoms and the 
temporary remedial agencies for the nmnerous affections — 
chronic, acute, or incidental — to which women and children 
are especially liable at all ages, and under all circumstances. 
For instance, supposing a child to present the premonitory 
S3'mptoms of measles, scarlet-fever, or colic, the mother or 
nurse, from inexperience, ignorance of the sjTnptoms, or 
the natural anxiety of the parents, is uncertain as to the 
natm-e of the affection b}^ which the child is threatened. 
By reference to Appendix A, she will be able to form a 
tolerably correct judgment as to the probable cause of the 
ph3'sical disturbance, and b}" referring to the disease men- 
tioned in the table of remedies in Appendix B, will at once 
have it in her power to intelligently and safely administer 
the appropriate temporary remedj^, which may mitigate the 
patient's suffering, and arrest the progi*ess of the disease 
until skilful professional aid can be obtained. 



396 



Woman's Medical Companion. 



APPEXDIX A. 

DISEASES AND THEIR SYMPTOMS. 

The following table is designed to enable the mother, 
wife, nurse, or attendant, to form some idea of the disease 
or affection under which the patient may be suffering by 
the symptoms which may present themselTes, and thereby 
to intelligently administer local or temporary treatment, 
and mitigate the suffering : — 



Disease. 



Symptoms. 



Dropsy — Inflammation or Ob- 
struction of Bowels 



Dyspepsia 



Disease of the Heart or Lnng-s, in 

terfering with breathing .^ 'Maintaining 



Abdomen. — Increased size. Can 
only lie upon the back, pinched 
countenance, tongue furred and 
dry, increased thirst, diminished 
perspiration, diminished secre- 
tion of urine, small pidse. 

Cold hands and feet, red or yellow 
deposits in urine, Toracious ap- 
petite (occasionally), black 
flecks floating before the eyes, 
tongue white or furry; when 
acute, coating of tongue peels 
ofT, fetid breath, clammy mouth, 
bitter taste, eructations, weight 
at pit of stomach. 



Pleurisy 



the sitting posture 
only, or lying upon the unaffected 
side only, forcible and rapid dila- 
tion of the nostrils, debility, cough 
harsh and concentrated, dimin- 
ished appetite. 
Pain in parts moved in breathing, 
harsh and concentrated cough, 
breathing diminished in rapidity, 
ability to lie upon one side only, 
depression or retraction of one 
side of chest; sharp, tearing pain 
below the nipple, enlargement 
of one side of chest. 



Appendix. 



397 



Diseases and their Symptoms. — Continued. 



Disease. 



Convulsions . 
Consumption 



Erysipelas or Small-pox. . . 
Nervous diseases generally 



Paralysis of one half of tlie body . 



Fevers 



Typhus Fever 



Symptoms. 



Head bent on one side, temporary 
spasm. 

Hands and feet hot, night-sweats, 
fat in stools, constant pain be- 
tween shoulders, pain darting 
from front part of chest to be- 
tween shoulder-blades, muco- 
purulent expectoration, or ex- 
pectoration of pus, harsh and 
concentrated cough, depression 
or retraction of one side of chest, 
breathing slower, paleness of 
face, faint and sweetish smell of 
expectoration, hollow, barking 
cough. 

Swollen scalp, frequent pulse, 
diminished secretion of urine, 
external local heat. 

Cold hands and feet, white sediment 
in urine (in severe cases), small, 
weak pulse, hollow and barking 
cough, trembling, exaltation of 
vision. 

Distorted features, altered position 
and impaired motion of limbs, 
head bent to one side, eyelids 
remain open, limbs immovable 
and diminished in size, retention 
of urine in the bladder. 

General heat of surface, chills, 
fetid smelling sweats, red or yel- 
low sand deposits in urine, 
tongue trembling, dry, and 
diminished in size (in low fe- 
vers), morbidly increased sensa- 
tion, tongue white, afterwards 
clean, red, and dry, with much 
thirst ; paleness of face (in cold 
stage), restlessness andtossings. 

Bluish tint of head, face, and neck, 
tongue white and loaded, or dry, 
parched, and black, difficult of 
protrusion and trembling, dull 
hearing, debility, loss of moral 
sensibility, acrid heat, burning 
the hand when applied. 



398 



Woman's Medical Companion. 



Diseases and their Symptoms. — Continued. 



- Disease. 



Typhoid Fever 



Various kinds of Colics 



Cerebral, or Brain Diseases 



Insanity, Mania, Delirium 



St. Vitus's Dance 

Catalepsy 

Apoplexy 

Acute Diseases generally, and 
progress of Chronic Complaints. 



Diabetes . 



Symptoms. 



Perspiration, smelling like ammo- 
nia, retention of urine in the 
bladder, tongue trembling, dry 
and diminished in size, dull ex- 
pression of face. 

Lying upon the face ; hard, sharp, 
contracted pulse, vomiting, pain 
relieved by pressure, hard and 
lumpy stools, cramps, abdomen 
diminished in size. 

Hot scalp, absence of thirst, full 
pulse, temporary spasm, rigidity 
of extremities, exaltation of 
vision, black flecks floating be- 
fore eyes, morbidly increased 
sensation, contracted limbs, vio- 
lent pulsation of carotid arteries, 
perpetual motion of eyelids, 
head increased in size, full, red 
face, blood-vessels of eyes in- 
jected, restlessness and tossing, 
ability to lie only on the back, 
painfully acute hearing, vomit- 
ing. 

Sweat having odor of mice, vora- 
cious appetite, great and un- 
natural boldness, and many of 
cerebral symptoms previously 
noted ; increase of strength and 
loss of moral sensibility. 

Irregular and perpetual motion. 

Entire and absolute loss of power 
of motion. 

Ability to lie only upon back; 
full or slow pulse. 

Great and unusual languor, contu- 
sive pains, debility, diminished 
appetite, abdomen diminished in 
size. 

Diminished perspiration, sugar in 
urine, increase in amount of 
urine, fat with stools. 



Appendix, 



399 



Diseases and their Symptoms. — Continued. 



Disease. 



Rheumatism, Gout, etc. . . . 

Neuralgia 

Measles, Scarlet-Fever, etc, 



Hysteria 



Bilious disorders. 



Disorders of the Bowels — Diar- 
rhoea, (1) ; Dysentery, (2) ; 
Constipation, (3) ; Cholera, (4) ; 
etc 



Congestion or Inflammation of 
Liver <. 



Bronchitis and Bronchial affec- 
tions 



Symptoms. 



Profuse perspiration, sour-smelling 
sweats, sand deposits in urine, 
boring pains, swelling of joints, 
ability to lie only on the back. 

Shooting, tearing pains in part 
affected. 

Sweat with mouldy odor, forcible 
closure of eyelids, tongue loaded 
with white, through which numer- 
ous elongated red papillae pro- 
trude their points. 

Increase in amount of urine, re- 
tention of urine in bladder, 
small pulse, voracious appetite, 
cough in paroxysms, cramps, 
painfully acute hearing, morbidly 
increased sensation, enlargement 
in epigastrium, increased rise in 
abdomen. 

Dark-green, yellow or dark-brown 
stools, surface of tongue covered 
with white, soft, mucous sub- 
stance, clammy mouth. 



Shreds of false membranes in stools 
(1 and 2) ; stools red and bloody 
(2) ; hard and lumpy stools (3) ; 
urgent desire for stool (1 and 2) ; 
watery stool (I audi) ; increased 
thirst, small pulse, pain in left 
shoulder, rice-water stools (4) ; 
bluish tint of face, etc. (4). 

Strong pulse, pain in right shoulder, 
tongue covered with yellow fur. 

Dull, heavy, aching pain at base of 
chest, soreness of breastbone 
and between shoulders, faint, 
sweetish smell of expectoration, 
(yellow in color, and mucous) ; 
hollow, barking cough. 



400 



Woman's Medical Companion, 



Diseases and their Symptoms. — Concluded. 



Disease. 



Pregnancy 

Cancerous disease 

Asthma 



Inflammations generally; Hemor- 
rhages 



Chronic affections 



Diseases of Bladder 
Bright's Disease . . . . 
"Worms 



Symptoms. 



Vomiting, voracious appetite, 
cramp. 

Citron tint of countenance, enlarge- 
ment in epigastrium, shooting, 
tearing pains. 

Wheezing cough, spasm of mus- 
cles of chest, jerking respira- 
tion, breathing increased in 
rapidity, clammy mouth, bitter 
taste, fetid breath. 

Vomiting, external local heat, 
diminished secretion of urine, 
frequent pulse, breathing dimin- 
ished in rapidity, paleness of 
face, tongue furred and dry. 

Hectic flush, at first, afterwards 
changing to paleness, tongue 
white and furry, hoarse, hollow, 
or barking cough, weak pulse, 
constant pain between shoulders, 
abdomen diminished in size. 

Mucus in urine, small pulse, pain 
in region of bladder. 

Albumen in urine, paleness efface, 
great debility. 

Shreds of false membrane in stool, 
itching of nostrils. 



Appendix. 401 



APPENDIX B. 

EEMEDIES FOE THE DISEASES. 

I. HOMGEOPATHIC REMEDIES. 

These remedies are given in the order of symptoms men- 
tioned in the description of the disease. 

Prolapsus Uteri (Falling of the Womb) . 

1. Aurum, or Belladonna, in cramping pains through 
abdomen, pelvis, and spinal column ; great sensibility and 
irritabilit}^, and when accompanied by leucorrhoea and men- 
orrhagia. 

2. Nux Vomica, for congestion of the womb, with pres- 
sure downwards ; great heat and weight in vagina and 
womb ; dragging pains, abdominal spasms, tendency to 
miscarriage, profuse or irregular menstruation, and fetid 
leucorrhoeal discharges. 

3. Sepia, in suppressed or irregular menstruation, con- 
tractile and expulsive pains in back and abdomen, frequent 
urination, and itching, excoriating leucorrhoea. 

4. Calcarea-carb., for weakness or laxity of muscular 
S3'stem, scrofulous habit of body, and exhaustive or pro- 
fuse menstruation. 

5. S scale cornutum, in prolonged bearing-down, forcing 
pains, profuse menstruation, depression, and deficient con- 
traction after miscarriage. 

Of either of these remedies, one dose of Jive pellets should 
be taken every four hours, and be continued for one week ; 
during the next week ?io medicine should be taken, and so 
on, in alternation, until a cure is effecteci. 



402 Woman's Medical Companion. 

lieucorrhoea, or Whites. 

6. Ptt?sa^i7Za, when the discharge is thin and acrid ; Sepia^ 
when the patient is sensitive and dehcate ; Alumina^ when 
it appears just before and after the menses, is profuse and 
transparent during the day, and is of a corrosive character ; 
Calcarea-carb.^ for itching, burning leucorrhoea, and too pro- 
fuse or too frequent menstruation, especially for persons of 
light complexion ; Kreosotum, when smarting, itching, of a 
whitish hue, accompanied by great pain and weakness, falling 
of womb, etc. ; Nitric Acid, for fetid, brownish, greenish, or 
flesh-colored discharges ; Mercurius, when the discharge is 
purulent ; Cocculus, if watery and bloody, during pregnancy, 
— for scanty menstruation, with leucorrhoea between the 
periods, or leucorrhoea instead of the menses ; Conium, for ex- 
cruciating leucorrhoea, with pinching coUc, lameness in small 
of back, and excessive itching ; Sulphur, in stubborn cases ; 
and Silicea, when milky, acrid, and accompanied by itching. 

Of these remedies, six pills every morning and evening, 
until Jive doses are taken; then suspend for four days, and 
repeat treatment. 

Chlorosis, or Green Sickness. 

7. Pulsatilla, for females of mild, esisy, melancholy disposi- 
tion ; Bryonia, in alternation, when congestion, constipation, 
and fever are present ; Ferrum, in great debility and dropsical 
tendency ; Sulphur, for obstinate cases, pain in back of head, 
emaciation, constipation, drowsiness, and sense of pressure, 
especially for irritable persons ; Calcarea-carh., in alternation, 
for difficulty of breathing, and excessive emaciation, pal- 
pitation, etc. ; Belladonna, for pressing or bearing-down 
pains, scant}^ and painful menses, preceded by colic ; China, 
when it occurs after a, severe fit of sickness or severe 
hemorrhages. 



Appendix. 403 



Five or six globules once in six Jiours until improvement 
takes place; afterwards gradually lengthen the intervals to 
twelve hours and two or three days. 



DISEASES OF PREGNANCY AND PARTURITION. 
Continued Menstruation. 

8. Cocculus^ for severe spasmodic pain low down in the 
abdomen ; Crocus, when the discharge is dark and copious ; 
Phosphorus, Platina, and Sulphur are also serviceable. 

Headache and Vertigo during" Pregnancy. 

9. Aconitum, Belladonna, Opium, NuxVomica, Coffea, 
Ignatia, or Pulsatilla, for the respective sjTnptoms of head- 
ache, vertigo, sparks before the eyes, sleeplessness, and 
sleepiness. 

Morning- Sickness . 

10. Ipecacuanha, for bilious vomiting and relaxed bowels ; 
Arsenicum for excessive vomiting, fainting, and emaciation ; 
Nux Vomica, for constipation, vomiting, and nausea in the 
morning or after eating, irritability of stomach, etc. ; Pulsa- 
tilla, for depraved appetite and obstinate sickness. 

Dissolve ticelve globules of either of these remedies in eight 
teaspoonfuls of water, and take one teaspoonful every three 
hours. 

Constipation during Pregnancy. 

11. Nux Vomica, Opium, Lycopodium, or Sulphur, one 
dose of five pellets ever}^ night and morning, for three or 
fom' da3's. On no account whatever should cathartics of 
an}^ kind be given. 



404 Woman's Medical Companion. 

Diarrhoea during" Pregnancy. 

12. Chamomilla., Pulsatilla^ or Dulcamara^ for violent 
colic, water}^, or greenish stools, or severe cold. Six pills 
at a dose, every two or thi'ee hours. 



Hysteria, or Fainting Fits. 

13. Chamomilla, Belladonna, or Acomtum, when arising 
from anger, or in cases of congestion in the head. Dose as 
in No. 12. 

Palpitation of tlie Heart. 

14. ChamomUla, when caused by anger ; Veratrum, when 
by fear ; Coffea, when by jo}^ ; Opium, when by sudden fright. 
Ignatia, Coffea, or Chamomilla, for nervous persons ; Aconi- 
tum and Belladonna, for plethoric persons. 

Dissolve twelve globules in twelve teaspoonfuls of ivater, 
and take one every Jiour, or half-hour if the attack be severe. 



Toothache. 

15. Pulsatilla, when pain flies about from one tooth to 
another ; Antimonium, Mercurius, or Sulphur, for carious 
teeth ; for violent and sudden paroxj^sms, Coffea or Bella- 
donna; fornervous toothache, J^jiafia, Hyoscyanius, oy Sepia. 
Six globules at intervals of one to six hom's, according to 
severity of pain. 

Neuralg-ia. 

16. Belladonna, Aconite, Coffea, or Bryonia, six globules 
at intervals of one to four houi's, according to severit}" of 
pain. 



Appendix, 405 



Pains in Back and Side. 

17. Blius^ Belladonna^ or Nux Vomica^ for pain in back ; 
Aconite^ Pulsatilla^ Ilercitrms, or Sid^hur, for pain in side. 
Dose same as No. 16. 



Cramps in Liimbs, Back, or Abdomen. 

18. Veratrum^ or Sidpliur^ for the limbs ; Nux Vomica^ 
Belladonna^ or Pidsatdla, for the abdomen ; Ignatia or Bhus^ 
for the back. Dose same as No. 16. 



Varicose Veins, or Swelling of the Veins. 

19. Nux Vomica^ when attended with hemorrhoids, 
constipation, and bearing-down pains ; Pulsatilla, when 
much pain, inflammation, and swelling ; Arsenicum, when 
swelling is of livid hue, with bm^ning pain ; Lycopodium for 
inveterate cases. Dose, twelve globules in twelve teaspoon- 
fuls of water, a teaspoonful every four hours. 



Hemorrhoids, or Piles. 

20. Pidsatilld, Nux Vomica, and Sidphur, especially the 
two latter. Take ten globules, dry, upon the tongue, night 
and mornirig ; unless in severe cases, when the remed}^ should 
be repeated every hour. 



Jaundice, or Icterus. 

21. Commence with Mercurius, six globules every three 
hours for thi'ee dajs, followed by Hepar Sidphur, or Lachesis, 
Two doses of six globules dail}", night and morning. 



406 Woman's Medical Companion, 

Incontinence of Urine. 

22. Pulsatilla,, Sejna, Belladonna, or Hyoscyamus. Six 
pUls, dry, upon the tongue, once in three or four hours. 

Dysury, or Strangury (Diflacult or Scanty Urination). 

23. Pulsatilla or Nux Vomica. Six globules every two 
hours. 

Flooding during Pregnancy. 

24 . Tincture of Cinnamon . Three drops in half- tumbler of 
water, a teaspoonful every quarter or half hour, until 
physician can be summoned. 

Miscarriage, or Abortion. 

25. Arnica, Cinnamon, Secale Cornutiwi, or Belladonna, 
as temporary remedies. Twelve globules in twelve teaspoon- 
fuls of water, one teaspoonful every fifteen, thirty, or sixty 
minutes, according to severity of case. 

False Pains. 

26. Bryonia, Nux Vomica, Pidsatilla, or Aconite. Twelve 
globules in twelve teaspoonfuls of water, one teaspoonful 
every half hour or hour. 

Constipation after Confinement. 

27. Bryonia, Nux Vomica, or Sulphur. One or two doses 
of six pills each. 

Sore Nipples. 

28. Chamomilla, Nux Vomica, Mercurius, Graphites, or 
Silicea. Same doses as No. 26, every six hours. 



Appendix. 407 



Gathered or Broken Breasts. 

29. Bryonia or Belladonna. In same doses as No. 28, 
every hour. 

Child-bed Fever, or Puerperal Peritonitis. 

30. Aconite^ Belladonna^ Bryonia^ or Pidsatilla. Ten or 
twelve globules of either two, in alternation, at intervals 
of one, two, three, or four hours, according to severity. 

Milk-leg, or Crural Phlebitis, 

31. Aconite^ Arnica^ Belladonna^ Bryonia^ or Pulsatilla. 
Six globules, dry, upon the tongue, once in two hours. 

Nursing Sore Mouth. 

32. Mercurius^ Borax, Nitric Add, or Sulphur, according 
toseverit3^ Twelve globules in twelve teaspoonfuls of water, 
one teaspoonful every four or six hours. 

Perspiration after Delivery. 

33. Didcamara, Bryonia, Belladonna, or Sulphuric Acid. 
In same doses as No. 32, every three or four hours. 

Excessive Perspiration. 

34. China, Sambucus, or Sulphuric Acid. Six globules 
every three hours. 

Asphyxia. 

35. Tartar Emetic or Opium. One or two globules, dis- 
solved or dry, upon the tongue, every ten or fifteen minutes. 



408 WomatCs Medical Companion, 



DISEASES OF CHILDEEN. 

Coryza, Snuflles, or Cold in the Head. 

36. Arsenicum, Nux Vomica, Chamomilla, Belladonna, 
Mercurius, Pulsatilla, or Sulphur, according to symptoms. 
In same doses as No. 32, every one, two, or three hours. 



Coug-li or Tussis. 

37. Aconite, Belladonna, Bryonia, Chamomilla, Nux 
Vomica, etc. Same doses as No. 32, at intervals of one to 
four hours. 

Bronchitis. 

38. Aconite, Pulsatilla, PJiosphorus, Tartar Emetic, 
Chamomilla, given dry or in solution. If dry, three to six 
pills for a dose. If in solution, dissolve twelve globules in 
twelve teaspoonfuls of water, a teaspoonful for a dose. Doses 
to be repeated every two to four hours. 

Pleurisy. 

39. Aconite and Bryonia are the two principal remedies, 
and in most cases will be all that is necessary to complete 
a cure. Mercurius, Arnica, and Arsenicum are sometimes 
used in severe cases. Doses as in No. 38, every half-hour, 
hour, or two hours, according to the severity of symptoms. 

Pneumonia. 

40. In the first stages Aconite is the most prominent 
remedy ; Belladonna and Bryonia are also used in alterna- 
tion. In severe cases. Phosphorus, Tartar Emetic, Pulsa- 



Appendix, 409 



iilla^ Arnica, Mercurius, and Arsenicum are administered, 
according as the peculiar symptoms may indicate. Dose as 
inNos. 38 and 39. 

Hoarseness or Raucitus. 

41. For excessive acrid discharges from nose, Arseni- 
cum. If combined with influenza, catarrh, or chronic 
hoarseness, Causticum. For tickhng or crawling at nose, 
violent cough, and smarting in throat, Capsicum. If fever, 
accumulation of mucus, and pain in throat, and great 
irritability, Chamomilla. Carbo-veg., Mercurius, Nux 
Vomica, PhospJiorus, Pulsatilla, and Sulphur, are also 
used in severe cases, especially when the affection is the 
sequel or result of other diseases. Dose as in No. 38. 

Spasmodic Croup. 

42. Aconite, Hepar Sulph., Spomjia, or Tartar Emetic, 
are effective remedies in all ordinary cases of croup. Dose 
as in No. 38, repeated every half-hour, hour, or two hours, 
according to circumstances. 



Membranous Croup, 

43. Aco7iite is the first remedy, in alternation with 
Spongia; if this has no effect, institute Hepar Sulph. If 
the case be very violent, Kali Bichrom., Bromine, Lachesis, 
or Phosphorus, will prove efficacious. Dose as in No. 38. 

Whooping-Cough, or Pertussis, 

44. Corallia, one dose every four hours, as in No. 38 ; 
Drosera, a dose every six hours, and an occasional dose of 
Causticum, will generally have the desked effect. In con- 
valescence, Hepar Sulph. should be administered. 



410 Womaii s Medical Companion 



Asthma of Miller. 

45. The principal remedies are Samhucus^ Ipecac.^ and 
Arsenicum^ tlie first two especiall}'. A dose of five pellets 
every ten or fifteen minutes. If tliese fail, Plwsphorus or 
Belladonna may be tried. 

Xiaryng'itis, or Inflammation of the Larynx. 

46. ^coniYe is specially indicated. Spongia^ Belladonna^ 
Hepar, Tartar Emetic, Phosphorus^ and Lachesis, are also 
very influential in severe cases, according to the prominent 
s}Tnptom in each case, in doses of five pellets from one to 
two hours apart. 

Colds. 

47. When they result in Cough, Aconite; for cold in the 
head. Belladonna and Nux Vomica; when very severe, 
Mercurius, Sepia, Arsenicum, and Pulsatilla ; for Headache, 
Belladonna; for Earache, Rhus, Dulcamara, Mercurius, 
Bryonia, or Sulphur; for Toothache, Aconite, Bryonia, 
Rhus, Nux Moschata, or Mercurius; for Sore Throat, 
Belladonna or Mercurius; for Diarrhoea, Arsenicum, Bry- 
onia, Dulcamara, or Glonoine. Kepeat the dose as in No. 38 
as frequently as the exigency of the case demands. 

Thrush, or Aphthae. 

48 . For ordinary cases , Mercurius and Sulphur internall}^, 
with a gargle of Borax; Arsenicum and Nitric Acid, in very 
severe cases. 

Canker of the Mouth. 

49. Mercurius may always be given, followed, if neces- 
sary, by Hepar Sulphur or Nitric Acid. In very severe 



Appendix. 411 



cases, Natrum Muriaticum, and Nux Vomica. Sulphur has 
been found extremely beneficial, and is now generally used. 
The dose of five pellets, dry or in solution, should be re- 
peated every two, three, or four hours, according to urgency 
of the case. 

Ptyalism, or Salivation. 

50. If from use of Mercury, Hepar, Lachesis^ Belladonna^ 
or Sulphur^ will be the appropriate remedies. "When caused 
by cold, give Mercurius. Dose as in No. 49, both as to time 
and quantity. 

Kanula, Swelling" Under Tongue. 

51. Mercurius, CalcareaCarb., Thuja, Siud SulpJiur, are 
the principal remedies, three or four globules being given, 
dr}^, upon the tongue, night and morning. 



Gumboils, Abscess in the Gums. 

52. Aconite and Belladonna, in alternation, ever}" two 
hours, when caused by decayed teeth ; Mercurius, when they 
fail to afford relief. If there be swelling of the jaw with 
suppuration, Silicea is the appropriate remedy. During 
the inflammatory stage, the remedies may be given every 
hour, gradually coming to two or three hours interval. 
When Silicea or Calcarea, three pills night and morning. 



Mumps, or Parotitis. 

53. Mercurius is the principal remedy, and often the 
onl}' one required ; two or three doses in most cases will 
effect a cure. A dose of four pills every night until four 
doses are taken. When it has an erj'sipelatous appearance, 



412 Woman's Medical Companion, 

or affects the brain. Belladonna or Hyoscyamus^ three 
globules everj' houi\ Should it suddenly disappear and 
affect the ovaries, Pulsatilla, same quantity, every two or 

three hours, will prove beneficial. 



Injflainiiiatioii and Swelling- of the Tongue, Glossitis. 

54:. Aconite should be administered at the commence- 
ment, followed hy Mercuriiis and Belladonna in alternation, 
at intervals of from one to four hours, according to ch'cum- 
stances. Dose, four globules, dr}*, upon the tongue. 

Dentition, or Teething. 

55. Aconite, Belladonna, or Chamomilla, for the ordi- 
nary nervous derangements ; Cina, when attended TNith 
cough; Coffea, for fever; Ignatia, for thi'eatened convul- 
sions ; Sulpliur, Magnesia Calc, ov Mercurius, for diarrhoea ; 
Ipecacuanha, when nausea and vomiting are combined with 
diarrhoea ; 2su:c Vomica, in alternation with Bryonia, for 
obstinate constipation; Calcarea Carh., to hasten the pro- 
cess of dentition. Three pills, dry, to the dose, every one, 
two, thi'ee, or foiu' hom's, according to ckcumstances. 



Toothache, or Odontalgia. 

56. For feverishness, violent pain, congestion, and heat, 
Aconite, followed b}* Belladonna or CliamomiUa . T\'heu the 
pain arises from mechanical injury, as extraction or plug- 
ging, Arnica. For hollow or decayed teeth, Antimonium 
crude. For drawing, jerking pain. Belladonna, Bryonia, 
or Chamomilla. TThen gums are swollen or congested, 
Kreosotuni and Mercurius. For toothache in i)regnanc3"', 
Xux Moschata or Nux Vomica. Pulsatilla is most suitable 



Appendix. 413 



for 3'oiiiig* girls or children, and Sulphur for tearing and pulsa- 
tive pain in carious teeth. Twelve globules in twelve tea- 
spoonfuls of water, a teaspoonful at a dose, at intervals of 
fifteen minutes, one hour, or two hours, according to severity 
of pain. 

Sore Throat, or Quinsy. 

57. Aconite and Belladonna in the first stages will 
generally efi'ect a cure. In the sore throat of scarlet-fever, 
Belladonna or Mercurius, Bryonia or Chamomilla, when 
resulting from cold. In dryness jind extensive swelling, 
Lachesis. For women and 3^oung persons, Pulsatilla and 
Ehus, in ordinary cases, and Sulphur and Silicea in pro- 
longed and severe cases. The doses, either dry, or in solu- 
tion (three globules at a time) , may be given at intervals of 
one, two, or three hours, according to urgency of symptoms. 
Lengthen the intervals as the severit}^ subsides. 



Malignant, or Putrid Sore Throat. 

58. If there be inflammatory fever, a few doses of Aco- 
nite should be given, followed by Belladonna and Mercurius 
in alternation. If the ulcers increase in size, and become 
painful. Nitric Acid. For gangrenous sore throat, Arseni- 
cum. Dose, same as in No. 56, every hour at commence- 
ment, gi'aduaUy increasing the interval as improvement 
takes place. 



Tonsillitis. — Inflammation of the Tonsils. 

59. Belladonna, Causticum, Graphites, Lachesis, or Sul- 
phur, in doses of three globules, every other night, for 
about six weeks, will usually eradicate the affection. 



414 Woman^s Medical Companion, 

Falling- of the Palate. 

60. Nux Vomicci (three globules every two hours) -will 
usually prove efficacious. Should it fail, Mercurius^ Bella- 
donna^ or Sulphur will doubtless result successfully. 



Diphtheria. 

61. Aconite at the commencement of an attack, in alter- 
nation with Bryonia^ especiall}^ if there is considerable fever ; 
Belladonna when the inflammation is of a bright scarlet, and 
extends uniformly over the entire mucous membrane ; Rhus 
tax. when it is of a dark -red color ; Arsenicum in aggravated 
conditions ; and Kali-chlor, in extreme depression and sep- 
tic tendencies. Dissolve twelve globules in six teaspoonfuls 
of water ; one teaspoonful every six hours. 



Pyrosis, Heartburn, Water-Brash, Sour Stomach. 

62. For water-brash, Nux Vomica, Pulsatilla, Silicea, 
Chamomilla. For heartburn, Arsenicum, China, Sepia, 
Sulphur. For flatulence. Graphites, Phosphorus, Pulsa- 
tilla, Carbo-veg. For sour stomach, Chamomilla, Pulsa- 
tilla, Phosphorus, Sulphur. Twelve globules, dissolved in 
twelve teaspoonfuls of water ; one teaspoonful ever}^ hour, 
for children. An adult may take six or eight globules every 
hour. 



Nausea, Vomiting-, and Regurgitation of Milk. 

63. Ipecacuanha is generally the only remedy required. 
If much flatulence, Pulsatilla and Antimonium crude, in 
alternation. T\Tien attended with diarrhoea or convulsions, 
Chamomilla. In cases accompanied by vomiting and con- 



Appendix. 415 



stipation, Nux Vomica and Bryonia, in alternation. Chronic 
cases of long standing require Calcao-ea or Sulphur. For 
vomiting caused by "worms, Cina, Mercurius, or Ferrum. 
Three globules at a dose, or a teaspoonful of solution (as 
in No. 62) every four hours, for an infant. In severe cases 
of vomiting repeat the dose every fifteen minutes or half- 
hour. 

Biliousness. 

64. When accompanied by chilliness, fever, headache, 
etc., use Bryonia. If caused by eating fat or greasy sub- 
stances, and accompanied with offensive eructations, Pulsa- 
tilla. For ordinary cases. Ipecacuanha and Mercwius y^ill 
effect a cure. Dose, six globules every one or two hours. 

OflPensive Breath. 

65. If only in the morning. Belladonna, Nux Vomica, or 
Sulphur. If at morning and night, Pulsatilla. If after a 
meal, Sulphur or Chamomilla. If in young girls at the age 
of puberty, Aurum, Pulsatilla , Belladonna, Sepia. If caused 
b}^ worms, Cina or Sulphur. If caused by salivation with 
calomel, Carbo-veg., Hepar Sulph., Nitric Acid. One dose 
ma}' be given ever^^ night and morning, either dr^^, or dis- 
solved (as in No. 62). Dose, if dry, six or eight pills. 



Colic. 

66. Spasmodic Coi^ic, Colo cy nth, Chamomilla, Belladonna, 
or Nux Vomica, five or six pills every few minutes. Bilious 
Colic, Nux Vomica, Colocynth, Mercurius, Pulsatilla, 
Chamomilla, and Plumbum, every five or ten minutes. 
The Colic of Infants, Chamomilla will answer in ordinary 
cases. If there is nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, Pulsa- 



416 Woman's Medical Companion. 

tilla. If the evacuations are fermented, and have a putiid 
o^or^ Ipecacuanha, If constipated, iV"'wa;Fo??uca. If caused 
by excitement on the x^art of the mother, Ignatia. Colic 
caused by worms, Cina^ Sulphur, or Jle'rcurius. For Cohc 
in Pregnant ~Women, Chamoinilla, Xux Vomica, Pulsatilla. 
For Menstrual Cohc, Pulsatilla, Coffea, Belladonna, Coc- 
culus. Dose for infants, two or three globules, dry, upon 
the tongue ; for adults and older childi*en, fiA'e or six pills 
every fifteen or thii'ty minutes, houi', or two hours, accord- 
ing to the severity of the case. 



Cholera Morbus. 

67. If the attack be Induced by excitement, and there 
are severe pains and cramps, Chamomilla. When vomiting 
predominates, with severe pains in the abdomen, Ipecacu- 
anha and Veratrum, in alternation. For "violent cramps 
and constrictions, or cutting pains, Colocynth. In cases of 
rapid prostration, Arsenicum. In most cases, even the 
most severe, Veratrurn, will prove an almost certain cui'e. 
Cuprum,, when there are severe spasms of the hmbs ; and 
Cinchona, for the debility which invariably accompanies the 
disease. Dose, six pills every few minutes. 



Cholera Infantum. 

68. Ipecacuanha is usually the only remedy required. 
When mucus or sour vomiting occurs, with gi'een and slimy 
evacuations and colick}"- pains, use ChcLmornilla, especially 
during dentition. "VMien the diarrhoea is chronic, Magnesia 
carb. Should the evacuations be light-colored, offensive, 
and froth}', the chikl moan and toss in its sleep, and have 
cramp-like pains in the abdomen, use Podox)hyllum . If 
accompanied with colic and straining, the stools shmy and 



'ix, 417 



mixed with blood, Mercurius. For diarrhoea immediately 
after eating, and loss of appetite, give Cinchona. In ex- 
treme cases, with great prostration, nausea, and vomiting, 
Arsenicum. Sulphur is a valuable remed}^ for protracted 
cases. If head symptoms manifest themselves, give Aco- 
nite^ Bryonia^ or Hellehorus. Doses, same as in No. 62, 
repeated every fifteen or thirty minutes, until the severe 
sj^mptoms have subsided, after which lengthen the 
intervals. 

Dyspepsia, or Indigestion. 

69. Dyspepsia of Adults. — Arnica., when caused by a 
fall, blow upon the stomach, or lifting heavy weights ; 
Aconite^ when considerable fever, thkst, and nausea ; Anti- 
monium crudum, when from an overloading of the stomach ; 
Belladonna, in painful distention of the abdomen; Arseni- 
cum, in curious chronic cases ; Bryonia, Cepa, Carbo veg., 
Calcarea carb., Chamomilla, China, and Hepar Sulph., are, 
given in other comphcations of the disorder. For Dis- 
PEPSiA IN Children, Ipecacuanha is the chief remedy, as it 
generall}" arises from imperfect mastication, or improper 
food. Either for Children or Adults, Lachesis, Mercurius, 
Nux Vomica, Pulsatilla, Phosphorus, Sepia, Sulphur, and 
Veratrum, are singularly efiectual in severe cases of dis- 
peptic derangement, according to the predominating symp- 
toms. For recent attacks, there should be intervals of half 
an hour, until relief is attained, gradually lengthening until 
one to three hours apart. In chronic cases, doses three 
times per day ; adults, ten globules at a dose ; an infant, 
two globules. 

Constipation. 

70. Nux Vomica or Bryonia, with Opium in alternation, 
for irritabilit}", distention, loss of appetite, and tendency to 



418 Woman's Medical Companion. 

vomit ; Platinum and Magnesia mur., with occasional dose 
of Lycopodium, when there is impaction of faeces, shudder- 
ing after evacuation, severe bearing-down, or inability to 
pass the fasces. Sulphur and Plumbum, for obstinate con- 
stipation, accompanied by piles. For constipation of preg- 
nant women, JSfux Vomica, Opium, and Sepia; for lying-in 
women, Bryonia and Nux Vomica; for nursing infants, 
Bryonia, Nux Vomica, Opium, and Sulphur. Dose, for 
adults, six pills once in four hours ; for infants, two or 
three pills. 

Diarrhoea, 

71. When arising from cold, and without pain. Dulca- 
mara; for froth}^, fermented evacuations, offensive, with 
pain in rectum, Ipecacuanha; also for nursing infants, when 
caused by overloaded stomach, offensive, tinged with blood, 
accompanied with nausea and vomiting. For infants, where 
evacuations are slimj^, green, or yellowish, the child draw- 
ing up its legs, fretting, worr3'ing, and wanting to be car- 
ried all the time. For the diarrhoea of teething, Nux 
Vomica. Dose, three or four pills drj upon the tongue, 
every half-hour, hour, or two or three hours, according to 
the severity of the pain. For adults, six pills, at similar 
intervals. 

Dysentery. 

72. Aconite, for ordinary or inflammator}^ dysenter}^ ; Ar- 
senicum, in severe cases ; Belladonna, in severe pain and 
tenderness ; Chamomilla, for thirst, headache, fever, and 
nausea ; and Colocynth, for extreme pain, slim}^, and bloody 
discharges ; Podophyllum, for cramp-like pains, moaning, 
rolling of the eyes, etc. Mercurius, Nux Vomica, and 
Sulphur are exceedingly valuable and effective remedies. 



Appendix, 419 



Dose, ill solution, twelve globules, in twelve teaspoonfuls 
of water, every half-hour or hour, until rehef is obtained. 



Prolapsus Ani, or Falling of the Body. 

73. Ignatia and Sulphur are the principal remedies, 
the latter in alternation with Nux Vomica; Calcarea, and 
Mercurius are also very efficacious. Thi'ee globules every 
twelve hours. 

Rupture, or Hernia. 

74. JSfux Vomica or Sulphuric Acid. Three globules 
every evening for about a week. 



Jaundice, or Icterus. 

75. Mercurius and Cinchona in alternation, six pills 
once in four hours. Nux Vomica, Sulphur or Lachesis, 
when accompanied by constipation or diarrhoea, or both. 
One dose of six pills every night and morning. 



Jaundice of Infants. 

76. Chamomilla, China, or Nux Vomica. One or two 
pills every four hours. 

Worms. 

77. Aconite, Cina, or JSFux Vomica, are the chief remedies ; 
when complicated with colic, Spigelia; with scrofulous erup- 
tions, Silicea; Lycopodium, Sulphur, and Teucrium, are each 
of them almost specific for the affection. Dose, three or four 
drops of the tincture in a tumbler half full of water, giving 
a large teaspoonful three times per da}- for two, thi-ee, or 
four days. 



420 Woman's Medical Companion, 

Epidemic Cholera. 

78. Preventive Treatment : Cuprum and Veratrum 
alternatel}^ for every six or seven da3^s. Dose, same as No.l 
72. Curative TreatjVient : Camphor, Dose, same as No. l 
72, after each evacuation ; for violent vomiting and purging,! 
Veratrum; for intolerable burning in the bowels, Arseniaim,\ 
Same dose repeated every- five minutes. Cuprum ton: tlcq- ^ 
water discharges. Carho-veg. for the state of collapse.' 
Secale Cornutum^ when the patient is aged. 



Scarlet-Fever. 

79. Belladonna and Cuprum are specifics for this dis- I' 

ease in its various phases. Aconite^ Mercurius^ Arsenicum^ ^ 

or Opium may be found very useful. In malignant cases, 

Crotalus^ Phosp>horiG Acid, Lachesis, or Nitric Acid; and in 

the after aflfections, Sulphur, Rhus, Digitalis, Pulsatilla, or 'f 

Lycopodium will afford relief. Dose, two drops, or twelve j 

globules, in twelve teaspoonfuls of water, a teaspoonful j 

every half-hour, hour, or two houi's, according to severity 

of the s}Tnptoms. I, 

\ 
Scarlet-Rash. f 

rl 

80. Aconite, in alternation with Coffea, is the only remedy 
necessary in ordinary cases. Exceptionall}', Belladonna, 
Ipecacuanha, Pulsatilla, or ^ryoma are called for. Dose, as | 
in No. 79, everj^ two hours. 

Measles. ' -| 

81. Aconite is generally suflicient, but, in the subsequent 
complications. Belladonna, Pulsatilla, Ipecacuanha, Bryonia, 
Euphrasia, and Bhus will prove efficacious. Dose, as in 
No. 79. 



Appendix. 421 



Nettie-Rash, Hives, Urticaria. 

82. Aconite, Pulsatilla, Nux Vomica, Dulcamara, and 
Rhus, but especially Ledum Palustre, which will cure all 
ordiuaiy cases. Dose, five globules, dry, every three hours. 
In severe cases, dose same as No. 79. 

Erysipelas, St. Anthony's Fire. 

83. Aconite when there is high inflamniator}' fever; 
Belladonna is especially valuable for erj^sipelas of the face, 
with delhium, swollen eyes, great thirst, and dr}' skin ; 
Lachesis when the entire face and glands are involved ; 
Arsenicum when the eruption is of a dark color, and there 
is gi'eat prostration ; Pidsatilla and Graphites when the 
eruption changes from one locahty to another ; Mercurius 
and Hepar Sulph. when it terminates in abscesses. Dose, 
as in No. 79, every two or three hours. 

Itch, Psora, Scabies. 

84. Sulphur ointment is the only specific remedy for this 
disease. An occasional dose of Mercurius or Causticum, 
three globules every four hom's, will sometimes prove 
beneficial. 

Itching of the Skin. 

85. Drosera, Sidphur, or Lycopodium (same dose as 
No. 84) will efiectually reheve this sjTnptom, for it can 
scarcely be called a disease. 

Herpes, or Tetter; Zoster, or Shingles; Circinatus, 
or Ringworm. 

8 6 . Eingworm will generall}' peld to Sepia , three globules 
every night for three nights, then omit for three da3^s, and 



422 Woman's Medical Companion 



repeat, and so on until cured. Bhus^ Calcarea^ Graphites^ or 
Sulphur may sometimes be found necessary. For Shingles, 
give Aconite or Tartar Emetic, 



Prickly-Heat. 

87. Aconite and Chamomilla will usually afford relief, j 
though Mhus, Arsenicum, and Sulphur are sometimes called' 
for. Dose, same as No. 79, every two hours. 

Strophulus, Red-Gum, White-Gum, Tooth-Rash, 

88. Coffea, Chamomilla^ Aconite, or Belladonna may be j 
given, in similar doses to No. 79, when there is great rest-] 
lessness. 

Chicken-Pox. j 

89. Aconite and Belladonna are generally all that is re- 
quired ; Pulsatilla will considerably shorten, if not entirely 
prevent, the disease. Dose, same as in No. 79. 

Variola and Varioloid, 

90. In the first stage, Aconite, Belladonna, Bryonia, 
Rhus, and Tartar Emetic. In the second, or eruptive 
stage, Tartar Emetic, Thuja, and Stramonium. The third, ' 
or suppurative stage, requires Mercurius, Arsenicum, Muri- 
atic Acid, Opium, or China, according to S3^mptoms. The 
fourth, or desquamative stage, requires only Sulphur, 
Dose, three globules every morning. 

Intertrigo, Excoriations. 

91. Chamomilla, Ignatia, Pulsatilla, or Sulphur, accord- 
ing to the circumstances, will generally prove effective. 



Appendix. 423 



Dose, three globules, night and morning. If fever exists 
give Aconite. In obstinate cases, Sepia ^ Graphites^ Sul- 
phuric Acid, or Silicea. 

Pimples on Face, Acne Punctata, Comedones, 

92. The remedies suitable for this disease are Belladonna, 
Calcorea, Sulphur^ and Nux Vomica. Six globules in twelve 
teaspoonfuls of water ; one teaspoonful every six hours. 

Abscesses. 

93. Mercurius, Hepar Sulph., Silicea, Calcarea, Lachesis, 
Phosphorus, and Sulphur are suitable remedies, according 
to the cause and stage of the disease. Dose, same as No. 
92, every four hours. 

Boils. 

94. Arnica to lessen pain ; Belladonna and Mercurius 
for fever and headache ; Sulphur as a preventive. Twelve 
globules in twelve teaspoonfuls of water ; a spoonful every 
three or four hours. 

Scald Head, Tinea Capitis, Favus. 

95. Calcarea carb., Sulphur, Lycopodium, Sepia, Arsenic 
cum, and Rhus, are the prominent remedies for this disease. 
Dose as in No. 94. 

Crustea Lactea, Milk-Crust, or Impetigo. 

96. Aconite, either alone or in alternation with Chamo- 
milla, once in two hours, is the best remed}^, though circum- 
stances sometimes necessitate the use of Rhus, Viola tri- 
color, and Sulphur. Nothing should be apphed externally 
but a little Glycerine. Dose as in No. 94. 



424 Woman's Medical Companiort, 

Inflammation of the Brain. 

97. Aconite at the commencement of the attack. Bella- 
donna is the most important and effective remedy, and in 
alternation with Aconite, Stramonium, or Hyoscyamus, is 
often attended with the happiest results. In very severe 
cases, where the head sjTuptoms are the result of some 
other disease, Helleborus, Bryonia, Zincum, and Opium 
will be called for. Dose, twelve globules in twelve tea- 
spoonfuls of water ; one spoonful every one or two hours. 

Convulsions. 

98. K from indigestion, Nux Vomica, Pulsatilla, Vera- 
trum, or Aconite, If from teething, Belladonna, Goffea, 
Chamomilla, or Ignatia. If caused by worms, Cina, 
Mercurius, or Hyoscyamus. If the result of repelled 
eruptions, Tartar Emetic, Belladonna, Stramonium, Sul- 
phur, or Bryonia. If from fright, Hyoscyamus, Coffea, 
Ignatia^ or Stramonium. If from mechanical injuries, 
Arnica. Dose, same as in No. 97, every ten, fifteen, or- 
twenty muiutes, until improvement takes place, when the 
intervals should be lengthened. 

Chorea, or St. Vitus's Dance. 

99. Belladonna, Cocculus, Colchicum, Pulsatilla, Nux 
Vomica, and Sulphur. Dose, same as No. 97, three times 
per da3\ 

Headache. 

100. Nervous or Neuralgic, Aconite, Belladonna, Coffea, 
Nux Vomica, Ignatia, and Pulsatilla, according to circum- 
stances. If from suppression of menstruation, Bryonia, 



I 



Appendix. 425 



NiLX MoscJiata, or Chamomilla. If accompanied by irrita- 
bility and h3'steria, Mercurius^ Platina^ or Hepar Sulpli. 
In stubborn, chronic cases, China, ColocyntJi, Arsenicum, 
Veratrum, Silicea, or Sulphur, according to accompanying 
symptoms ; Sulphur, especially, in cases of nausea. Sick 
or bilious headache, Belladonna, Sanguinaria, Ipecac, Pul- 
satilla, or Spigelia. Dose, same as No. 97, if in solution ; if 
dry, three or four globules, to be repeated every half-hour, 
one, two, three, or six hours, according to severity, until 
rehef is obtained. Congestive headache. Aconite, Bella- 
donna, Bryonia, Rhus, Glonoine, or Pulsatilla, in same 
doses. Rheumatic headache, Chamomilla, Ignatia, Ipecac, 
or Colocynth, especially the latter. Catarrhal headache, 
Hepar Sulph., Euphrasia, Arsenicum, or Aconite. If from 
constipation, Bryonia^ Opium, and Lycopodium, 

Neuralgia. 

101. Aconite, Belladonna, Bryonia, China, Platinum, 
Spigelia, Staphysagria, or Kalmia, according to locality 
and severity of pain. Dose, same as No. 97, repeated every 
quarter or half hour, hour or two hours, according to ur- 
gency of case, lengthening the intervals as the symptoms 
amehorate. 

Hysteria. 

102. Cocculus, Cuprum, Coffea, Ignatia, Lachesis, Co- 
nium, Natrum, or Veratrum, according to origin and inten- 
sity of affection, in same dose as in Neuralgia. 

Sore Eyes of Young Infants. 

103. Aconite, Belladonna, Chamomilla, Euphrasia, Rhus, 
or Sulphur, according to symptoms. One globule every 
three hours. 



426 Woman's Medical Companion. 

Sty on the Eyelid. 

104. Staphysagria or Silicea, three or four globules every 
four hours. 

Squinting" — Strabismus . 

105. Hyoscyamus and Belladonna, in same dose as 97, 
every three hours, for two or three days, then discontinue 
for some length of time, and proceed as before. 

Inflammation of Ear. 

106. Pulsatilla, Belladonna, or Aconite, in same dose as 
97, every half hour or hour, according to severity. 



Earache. I 

I 
107. Chamomilla, Pulsatilla, Belladonna, Rhus, or Sul- 
phur, according to the cause of the affection. Dose, as in 
97, every fifteen minutes, until better. 



Running of the Ear. 

108. Pulsatilla, Lycopodium, Belladonna, Lachesis, Cal- 
carea, or Sulphur, in accordance with symptoms. Dose, 
as in 97, every four hom's, for six days. 

Bleeding from the Nose — Epistaxis. 

109. When from a fall. Arnica; when from determina- 
tion of blood to the head. Aconite, Belladonna, or Bryonia; 
when from over-exertion, Rhus; when from worms, Cina 
and Mercurius. Dose, same as 97, every ten or fifteen 
minutes, in profuse hemorrhage. "When only periodical, 
every hour or two hours. 



Appendix, 427 



Wetting the Bed. 

110. Pulsatilla, Nilx Vomica, Belladonna, Sulphur, 
Silicea, or Causticum. Dose, three to six pills, every four 
houi's, according to age of patient. 

Retention of Urine in Infants. 

111. Aconite, Pulsatilla, or Ipecacuanha, two globules 
every two hours. If in an older child, same dose as in 97. 

Burns and Scalds. 

112. Linseed and Lime-ivater, or a solution of Oanthari- 
des, ten drops to a half tumbler of water, applied by dip- 
ping linen cloths into the solution and placing theni, on the 
burnt surface. Arnica and Tincture of Urtica Urens are 
exceedingly eflBicacious remedies. To promote healing, use 
Creosote-water ; if erysipelatous inflammation is tlireatened, 
Belladonna or Phus internally. For the accompanying 
fever. Aconite; for pain and restlessness, Carbo-veg. and 
Coffea. If there is ulceration, Causticum, in water, exter- 
nally. Sulphur or Silicea, internally, one dose every six 
houi's. 

Concussion of the Brain. 

113. Arnica is the usual remedy. Where inflammation 
is imminent Aconite and Belladonna in alternation. Dose, 
as in 97, every hour. 

Sprains. 

114. Externally, Tincture of Arnica, Internally, Phus 
or Bryonia, once in two hours. If there is sickness of the 
stomach, Pulsatilla. 



428 



Woman^s Medical Companion. 



Wounds, 

115. Superficial Wounds, Staphysagria^ externally. 
Contused Wounds, Arnica or Hypericum per. internally. 
ITepar Sulph. during the suppurative process. Bruises 
al^out the eye should be kept constantly wet with a solution 
of Arnica. Lacerated Wounds should be dressed with a 
solution of Calendula in cold water. If there is inflamma- 
tion and fever, Belladonna or Hhus, and an occasional dose 
of Aconite. Punctured Wounds only require an applica- 
tion of Canada Balsam. Poisoned Wounds, — Externally, 
a solution of Arnica; internally. Aconite or Apis. For 
mosquito-bites, Spirits of CampJior or Lemon-juice, 



II. ALLOPATHIC AND ECLECTIC REMEDIES. 



116. 



For Acidity of Stomach. 



Liquor Potassa . . . 


20 minims. 


Chalk Mixture 


1 oz. 


Tincture of Colombo 


1 drachm. 


Make a draught. 




117. Alterative. 




Nitric Acid, diluted .... 


^ drachm. 


H3^drochloric Acid, diluted 


1 " 


Spirit. CEther. Nitrici 


J- oz. 


Sj^rup of Sarsaparilla 


1 " 


Water, pure 


. 6^ " 


Two spoonfuls three times a day. 





ii 



Appendix. 



429 



118. Amenorrhoea, or Suppression of Menses. 

Powdered Aloes ..... 3 grains. 



Powdered Tartrate of Antimony 
Cocoa Butter .... 



1 grain. 

2 drachms. 



119. 



Compound Aloes, pill, 
Compound Iron, pill 
Oil of Savin, | 
Oil of Rue, j 
Powdered Capsicum . 



,"•} 



of each 



of each 



1 drachm. 

3 drops. 
8 grains. 



Divided into 24 pills. One pill three times per day. 



120. 

Liquor of Ammonia ..... 

Cow's Milk 

An Injection — 1 oz. to be injected daily. 



3 scruples, 

4 oz. 



Anti-spasmodic. 



121. 

Camphor, "j 

Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia, J 
Ipecacuanha Powder 
Extract H3'osc3'amus 



of each 



3 grams. 

1 gTain. 

4 srrains. 



Mucilage sufficient to form three pills. Dose, one or two. 



122. 



Ascites, or Swelling of the Abdomen. 



Gamboge ....... 2 scruples. 

Tartrate of Potash . . . . . 1 oz. 

White Sugar 2 drachms. 

Water 6 oz. 

A tablespoonful every two or three hours. 



430 



Woman's Medical Companioit, 



123. Asthma. 

Socotrine Aloes 16 grains. 

Mastick Eoot Powder . . . . 8 " 

Ext. Gentian, 
Compound Galbanum Pill, 

Oil of Anise sufficient. 

Make into twelve pills. Take three every day on going 
to sleep. 



>ill, [ 



of each . 



124. 

Decoction of Aloes . . « . « 6^ oz. 
Compound Tinct. of Senna . ' . » 1 " 

Tinct. of Squills 3 drachms. ' 

Three table-spoonfuls to be taken occasionally. 



125. Spasmodic Asthma. 

Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia 
Rue Water ..... 
SjTup of Poppies .... 
A spoonful every ten minutes. 



1 drachm. 
9 oz. 
1 *' 



126. 

Ext. Hyoscyamus 
Tinct. Squills . 
Nitric Acid 
Water 



Make a draught, repeated every three hours. 



4 grains. 
10 minims. 

6 " 
10 drachms. 



I 



Appendix. 



431 



127. Aatringenta. 

Decoction of Oak Bark 
Powdered Nut-galls . 
Tinct. Catechu .... 
Tinct. Cardamoms (Compound) 
SjTup of Orange 

A di'aught to be taken twice a day 

128. 

Outside Oak Bark, bruised 
Aquafortis .... 

Macerate for three, hours and strain 
Powdered Gall-nuts . 
Tinct. Cardamoms (Compound) 

A wineglass full for a dose. 



IJ oz. 


10 grains. 


^ drachm. 


1 '' 


1 " 


11 oz. 


1 pint. 


Q ; then add 


2 drachms 


2 oz. 



129. Brain Diseases. — Hydrocephalus. 

Tinct. Digitalis 1 oz. 

S}Tup of Squills 1 '' 

Ten di'ops for a child seven years old every four hours. 



130. 

Infusion of Digitalis . . . . 

Acetate of Potash 

Sweet Spiiits of Nitre . . . • 

Cinnamon Water . . . . . 

A table-spoonful every four or five hours. 



4 oz. 

2 drachms. 
2 *' 
IJoz. 



131. 

Iodide of Potassium .... 1 drachm. 

Water ....... \ oz. 

Thirty di'ops to a child seven years old, every hour. 



432 



Woman's Medical Compaction. 



132. 

Pulv. Gamboge 
Pulv. Scammony 
Elaterium 
Croton Oil 
Ext. Stramonium 

Make twelve x)iUs. 
operates. 



Brain Fever. 

12 grains. 
12 " 

2 " 
8 drops. 

3 grains. 
One pill repeated every hour until it 



133. 

Pulv. Scammony 
Pulv. Gamboge 
Pulv. Colocynth 
Castile Soap 
Oil of Anise 

Make twelve piUs. 
till it operates. 



12 grains. 
12 " 

8 " 

4 " 

5 drops. 
One pill repeated every three hours 



134. 



Powdered Antimony . , • . . 4 grains. 

Camphor Scrap'ings 4 '' 

Extract of Hyoscyamus . . . . 6 " 

Syrup of Poppies . . . . . sufficient. 
Three pills, to be taken just before bedtime. 



Inflammation of Brain. 



135. 

Sulphuric Ether, 

Liquor of Acetate of Ammonia, 
Rectified Spirits of Wine, 
Rose Water 

An evaporating lotion. 



of each 



IJoz. 
3i" 



Appendix, 



433 



136. 



Hard and Inflamed Breasts. 



Liquor of Acetate of Ammouia 
Rectified Spirit 
Make a lotion. 



6oz. 
2 " 



137. Painful Affections of Breast. 

Chlorinated Ether 

DistUled Water 

Make a lotion. 



8 drachms. 
1 pint. 



138. 



For Gathered Breasts. 



Fresh Tobacco Leaves, sliced ... 10 oz. 

Diluted Acetic Acid 4 pints. 

Boil the tobacco in the acid, strain, and evaporate the 
decoction to six ounces. Add this to thii'teen ounces Ba- 
sihcon Ointment, heated, and stir till cold. 



139. Bronchitis. 

Tartar Emetic .... 
Boiling Water .... 
One teaspoonful every two hours. 



1 grain. 
10 drachms. 



140. 



Tincture Blood-root . 


1 oz. 


Sulphate of Morphia 


IJ grains. 


Tinct. Digitalis 


I oz. 


Wine of Antimony . 


. . h " 


Oil of Wintergreen . 


10 drops. 



Dose, from twenty to forty drops twice or three times a 
day. 



434 



Woma7i's Medical Companion. 



141. 




Syi'up of Tola ..... 


1 oz. 


Sji-up of Squills .... 


• ^ " 


Wine of Ipecac .... 


2 drachms. 


Paregoric 


3 " 


Mucilage of Gum Arabic . 


11 oz. 


Take a teaspoonful occasionally. 





142. 



Carbonate of Soda . 


1 drachm 


Wine of Ipecacuanha 


^ oz. 


Tinctui-e of Opium . 


1 drachm 


Sjrup of Tolu .... 


2 oz. 


Water 


. . U " 


Half an ounce for a dose. 





143. 

Powdered Tragacanth 
Lime Water 
Pure Glycerine 
Rose Water 

Make a liniment. 



Bums. 



2 drachms. 

3 oz. 

1 " 
3 '' 



144. 



Extensive Burns. 



Liquor Diacetate of Lead, \ 



Olive Oil, 
Rose Water 

Make a liniment. 



each . 



1 oz. 

4 " 



Appendix, 



435 



145. Canker of the Mouth, Ulcerated Throaty etc. 

Infusion of Cinchona . . . . 3 oz. 

Chlorinate of Soda in solution . » » 1 " 

Make a mouth- wash. 



146. 

Sulphate of Copper . 
Ox3TQel . . » = . 
Apply with a camel-hair brush. 



5 grains. 
Joz. 



147. In Catarrhal Affections. 

Leaves of the Red Poppy Flower . . 2 oz. 

Sulphuric Acid, diluted . . . . 15 drops. 

Sugar ....... 2 oz. 

Decoction of Barlej^ ..... 1 pint. 

Infuse and strain. Drink freely, as often as you desire. 



148. 

Muriate of Ammonia 
Gum Arabic 
Infusion of Chamomile 
Antimony Wine 
Ext. Liquorice 



15 grains. 
\ drachm. 
3oz. 

1 drachm. 

2 drachms. 
Half a spoonful every two hours, to a child 5 or 6 years 



old. 



of each 



149. 

Muriate of Ammonia, 
Extract Liquorice, 
Decoction of Marsh Mallow 
Ox^Tnel of Squills ..... 
Two table-spoonsfuls three times per day. 



1 drachm. 

6 oz. 

1 '' 



436 



Woman's Medical Companion. 



150. 



Common Catarrh. 



of each 



Acetate of Ammonia, Liquor, ") 
Camphor Mixture, j 

Syrup of Poppies 

Antimony Wine (Tartrate of Potash) . 

A draught to be taken before going to bed. 



6 drachms. 

1 drachm. 
20 minims. 



151. Cathartic. 




Magnesia, ") 




Supertartrate of Potash, 




Flour of Sulphur, \ of each 


6 grains. 


Powdered Rhubarb Root, 
Powdered Chamomile Flowers, ^ 






Orange SjTup . . . . 


3 drachms, 


Oil of Pimento . . . . • . 


2 minims. 


Make an electuary for a dose. 




152. Cerebral Affections. 




Boracic Acid 


1 drachm. 


Camphor Mixture . . . 


4 oz. 


Orange Syrup . . . . . 


1 " 



Two teaspoonfuls every two or three hours. 



153. 

Camphor-powder 3 grains. 

James's powder 4 '' 

Nitrate of Potash J scruple. 

Extract of Hyoscyamus .... 7 grains. 
Conserve of Roses, sufficient to make a bolus. 



Appendix, 437 



154. Laxative in Change of Life. 

Sulphuric Sublimate 1 oz. 

Bicarbonate of Soda ..... 1 drachm. 

Powdered Ipecacuanha .... 5 grains. 
From 1 to 2 scruples, in milk, at bedtime. 

155. A Valuable Liniment for Chilblains. 

Sulphuric Acid 1 drachm. 

Spu'its Turpentine . . . . . 1 " 

Olive Oil 3 *' 

Mix the Oil and Turpentine first, gradually adding the 
Sulphm-ic Acid. To be rubbed on two or three times a day. 

156. Chlorosis, Aneemia, etc. 

Decoction of Aloes 2 oz. 

Syrup of Crocus, Kf^^^^ ... 1 « 

S3TUP of Rhubarb, j 

Make a mixtm-e, to be taken in two doses. 

157. 

Iron Filings 1 drachm. 

Ext. Absinthe, sufficient to make into 4-grain pills. One 
to four, night and morning. 

158. 

Pulverized Iron, with Sesquioxide of Iron. ^ oz. 

Nitrate of Bismuth 5 drachms. 

Extract of Opium, diluted . . . . 3 grains. 

S}Tup and Gum Acacia, sufficient to mix and di\dde into 

one hundred and twenty-five pills. From one to ten 

daily, duiing meals. 



438 



Woman's Medical Companion, 



159. 



Sesqiiioxicle of Iron 

Valerian powder ..... 
S^Tup of Ginger, sufficient to form a bolus. 



I" scruple. 



160. Cholera Infantum. 

Sub-muriate of Mercur3- .... 2 grains. 

Acetate of Lead . . . . . 1 grain. 

Divide into four powders. One every three hours. 



161. 

Sulphate of Iron .... 

Sulphuric Acid, diluted 

White Sugar ..... 

Water ...... 

One oz. three or four times per day. 



2 grains. 
10 drops. 
1 drachm. 
1 oz. 



162. Cholera. 

Assafoetida, "\ 

Powdered Opium, )- of each . . . 1^ grains. 

Black Pepper, J 

Make a pill — to be bruised and taken in a glass of 
brandy and water everj^ half or three-quarters of an hom\ 



163. 

Potassio-tartrate of Antimony ... 2 grains. 

Sulphate of Magnesia . . . . ^ oz. 

Water 10 " 

For an adult, a table-spoonful ; for a two-year old child, a 
teaspoonful every half hour. 



Appendix. 



439 



164. 

Puly. Camphor. 
Pulv. Opium 
Puly. Cayenne . 
Make sixteen pills. 



One eyeiy hour. 



^drachm. 

16 gi'ains. 
J drachm. 



165. 

Puly. Senna 
Bicarbonate of Potassa 
Puly. Cayenne . 
Puly. Jalap 

Diyide into twelye parts, 
until it operates. 



Chorea, Epilepsy, etc. 



. . . . 2 drachms. 

2oz. 
10 grains. 

1 drachm. 
One part every fom' hours 



166. 

Leptandrin 
Podophyllin 
Scutillaria 
Puly. Ca3'enne . 
Puly. Loaf Sugar 

Rub well together, 
the aboye. 



1 drachm. 

1 scruple. 

2 drachms. 
1 scruple. 
4oz. 

Dose for an adult, one-sixteenth of 



167. 

Ext. Skullcap . 
Ext. Boneset . 
Ext. Chamomile 
Quinine 

Pulv. Caj^enne . 
Oil of Valerian . 

Beat well together and make ninet}^ pills 
two or three hours. 



2 drachms. 

1 drachm. 

2 drachms. 
1 drachm. 
1 scruple. 
^ drachm. 

One pill everj' 



440 



Woman's Medical Companion, 



168. Cough. 

Mtrous Ether, Spirit, | ^^ ^^^^ 
Sp'up of Tolii, 3 

A teaspoonful when troublesome. 



1 oz. 



169. Cougha of Children, -without Inflammation. 
Liquor of Onions ..... 1 oz. 

Sugar 1|- " 

Make into s}Tup — a teas^DOonful occasionally. 



170. 




Alum ...... 


24 grains. 


Sulphuric Acid, diluted 


12 minims. 


Syrup of Red Poppy .... 


4 drachms 


Water 


^ oz. 


Take thi'ee di'achrris every six hours. 




171. 




Bicarbonate of Potassa 


15 gi-ains. 


Cochineal ...... 


8 " 


Distilled Water 


6 oz. 


Rub up together, sti'ain, and add 




Hydrocyanic Acid, diluted 


10 minims 



A teaspoonful to be taken when the cough is troublesome. 



172. Cough of Consumption. 

Mixture Acacia 1 oz. 

Distilled Water 6^ '' 

S^Tup Tolu i oz. 

Hj'drocyanic Acid, diluted . . .12 drops. 

A table-spoonful every thi'ee houi's. 



Appendix, 



441 



Cough of Measles. 



of each 



2 oz. 

1 " 



173. 

Oil of Almonds 

Syrup of Poppies 

S^Tup of Tolii, 

Powdered Sugar • . . . . 2 drachms. 

Make a thick s}Tup, of which the patient may partake 
freel}" when the cough is troublesome. 



174. Croupy Cough. 

Hydroc3'anic Acid diluted ; . . . 5 minims. 

Rose Water . , . . . . 5 oz. 

Poppy Seed ...... 3 drachms. 

A teaspoonful every two or or three hours. 



4 oz. 

2 scruples. 

1 oz. 



175, Croup. 

Decoction of Seneka root . o . . 
Antimony Wine ..... 

Syrup of Marsh Mallow .... 
A teaspoonful frequently. 

176. 

Decoction of Seneka root . . . . 5 oz. 

Carbonate of Ammonia . , , . 8 grains. 

Tinct. of Squills 16 drops. 

S}Tup of Tolu 2 drachms. 

Three drachms in milk, every 4th hour, for children three 
or four 3^ears old. 

177. 

Dover's Powders . . . . . 15 grains. 

Calomel 5 " 

Divide into ten powders. One every three hours for a child. 



442 



Woman's Medical Companion, 



178. Condylomata or Fungous Grovrths. 

Pulverized Savin . ... 
Sulphate of Copper ..... 
To be sprinkled on the growths. 



1 scruple, 
1 '' 



179. 


Constipation. 




Leptandrin 




1 drachm. 


Podophj^llin 




1 scruple. 


Apoc^^nin . 




1 " 


Ext. Nux Vomica 




6 grains. 


'Castile Soap 




1 drachm. 


Make thirty pills. 


One pill every night. 





180. 

Compound Infusion of Senna . 
Tartrate' of Potassa . 
Carrawa}^ Water 
Manna . . . . . 
For a child, a table -spoonful. 



4 oz. 

2 drachms. 

2 oz. 

1 drachm. 



181. For Indigestion, with Costiveness. 

Extract Aloes 1 scruple. 

Powdered Ipecacuanha .... 8 grains. 

Powdered Ginger ^ drachm. 

Syrup ....... sufficient. 

Make sixteen pills. One to be taken before dinner. 



182. 

Aloes and MjTrh Pill .... 1 drachm. 

Compound Galbanum pill .... 2 drachms. 

Divide into forty pills. Two pills to be taken three times 
a day. 



Appendix. 



443 



183. Obstinate Costivenesa, 

Barbadoes Aloes ..... 24 grains. 

Sulphuric Acid ...... 6 drops. 

Divide into six pills. Two to be taken every four hours. 



184. Infantile Convulsions. 

Oil of Anise ...... 4 drops. 

Wliite Sugar ...... \ scruple. 

Mix intimately, and add 
"Water . ... 

Powdered Rhubarb 

Carbonate of Magnesia .... 

Tinct. Opium ...... 

Sulphuret of Ammonia . . . . 10 

A dessert-spoonful every third hour. 



2 ounces. 
^ scruiDle. 
1 " 
4 drops. 



185. Crusta Lactea — Milk Crust. 




Sulphuret of Zinc ..... 


2 drachms 


Decoction of Marsh Mallow 


2 oz. 


Make a lotion. 





186. Cutaneous Eruptions of Infancy and Childhood. 
Green Iodide of Mercur}^ .... 2 'grains. 

Mercur}^ with Prepared Chalk . . . 12 " 
Aromatic Powder . . . . . 9 " 

Divide into six powders. One every morning for a child 
two 3xars old. 



187. Diabetes. 

Phosphoric Acid diluted . 
Decoction of Barle}^ .... 
To be used as an ordinary beverage. 



1 drachm. 

2 pints. 



444 



Woman's Medical Companion, 



188. 

Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia ... ^ drachm« 

Sweet Spirit (Rum) . . . . .5 drachmSo 

Simple SjTup . . . . . . 5 " 

Water 3 oz. 

Half to be taken, morning and night. 



189. 

Liq. Arsenite of Potassium . . .3 dracbms. 
Liq. Hj'drosulphate of Ammonia . . 20 minims. 
Tinct. Hyosc3^amu3 . . . » . 2 drachms. 

Infusion of Buchu . . . . . 8 oz. 

Take a table-spoonful every fourth hour. • 



190. Diarrhoea. 

Pulverized Catechu 2 drachms. 

Bruised Cinnamon . . . . . ^drachm. 

Boiling Water . ' 5 oz. 

Steep in covered vessel for one hour and strain. A tea- 
spoonful every two, three, or four hours, according to 
age, etc.. 



191. 




Tinct. Catechu . 


J oz. 


Laudanum 


2 drachms. 


Spirits of Camphor . 


. . . 2 " 


Tinct. Myrrh . 


2 " 


Tinct. Cayenne. 


2 " 



From half a teaspoonful to a teaspoonful when required. 



Appendix. 445 



192. 

S3TUP of Orange Peel . . . . 1 oz. 

Acetate of Morphia ..... 2 grains. 

Tinct. of Cinnamon ..... 6 drachms. 

Tinct. of Cardamoms . . . . 2 '' 

A teaspoonful ever}' one or two hours. 

193. Diphtheria. 

Hydi'ochloric Acid and Honey in equal paxts. 
Touch the fauces with the mixture. 

194. 

Powdered Alum ..... 2^ drachms. 

White Honey 10 " 

Half a spoonful every hour ; powdered alum or sulphur 
to be blown into the throat every four hours. 

195. 

Iodide of Potassium ... . . . J drachm. 

Tincture of Orange . . . . . j- oz. 

S}Tup of Ginger . . . . . ^ " 

Pm-e Water 5 " 

A tablespoonful in equal quantity of water three times 
per day. 

196. Dropsy. 

Tinct. Black Cohosh . . . . . 1 oz. 

Tinct. M}Trh 6 drachms. 

Laudanum ...... 1 drachm. 

Tinct. Caj^enne , . . . . 1 " 

Thirty or forty drops four times per day. 



446 



Woman's Medical Compajtiojt. 



each 



197. Dysmenorrhoea. 

H^'dro chloric Acid, diluted. 
Nitric Acid, diluted, 
Tinct. Camphor (Compound) 
Tinct. Orange . . ... 
S3TUP of Sarsaparilla 
Rose Water ..... 
Take two teaspoonfuls twice a day. 

198. 

H^'drochloric Acid, diluted, ") ^ , 
Nitric Acid, diluted, 3 

Extract Dandelion Root 
Compound Infusion of Gentian . 

Two table-spoonfuls twice a day, before meals. 



30 minims .1 
4 drachms. I 



1 drachm. 

1 oz. 
7 oz. 



'•} 



of each 



199 

Hydrochloric Acid, diluted. 
Nitric Acid, diluted, 
Infusion of Dandelion Root 
Infusion of Cinchona .... 

Two teaspoonfuls twice a day, before meals. 

200. Dysentery. 

Infusion Cascarilla ..... 
Cinnamon Water ..... 
Compound Powder of Kino 

SjTup of Poppies • 

A draught to be taken twice a day. 

201. 

Aromatic Confection .... 

Lime -Water ...... 

Carbonate of Magnesia .... 

Tinct. of Hops 

A di'aught, three times per day. 



1 drachm. 

1 oz. 
7 oz. 



6 drachms. 
3 *' 

J- scruple. 
1 drachm. 



15 grains. 

11 drachmi 
6 grains 
1 drachm 



Appendix, 447 



202. Dyspepsia. 

Sweet Tincture of Rhubarb . . . 4 oz. 

Bicarbonate of Soda . . . . . 2 drachms. 

From a teaspoonful to a table-spoonful, as occasion may 
requii'e. 

203. 

Pulv. Charcoal (Willow bark) . . . 1 J- drachms. 

Pulv. Rhubarb ...... 2 scruples. 

Pulv. Ipecac ...... 6 grains. 

Ext. Hj'oscj^amus . . . . . 12 " 

Divide into twelve portions. Give one every three or 
four hom's. 

204. 

Pulverized Rhubarb 2 oz. 

Bicarbonate of Potassa . . . . 1 " 

Mix. Take sufficient to produce one movement of bowels 
per day. 

205. Epilepsy. 

Ox-gall, ) 

Assafoetida, \^^ ^^^"^ .... 1 drachm. 

Powdered Rhubarb 1 scruple. 

Syrup, sufficient to make forty pills. Two, twice per day. 



206. Erysipelas. 

Wine of Colchicum 30 minims. 

Sulphate of Magnesia .... 1|- drachms. 

Carbonate of Magnesia .... 1 scruple. 

Peppermint Water . . . . . 10 drachms. 
Make a draught. 



448 



Woman's Medical Companion, 



207. 




Senna .... 


3 drachms. 


Salts .... 


2^ drachm. 


Manna 


I " 


Fennel Seed 


1 


Boiling Water . 

Ti/T „i._ —J ~j.. i— m 


1 pint. 

^—1 _ Xf 1 J.i 



Macerate and strain. Teacupful every four hours unti 
it operates. 



208. 

Calcined Magnesia . 
Pulv. Rhubarb . 
Pulv. Ipecac 

One-fourth of this daily. 



1 scruple. 
1 " 
1 grain. 



209. 

Nitrate of Silver 2 scruples. 

Nitric Acid . . . . . . 12 drops. 

Soft Water 1 oz. 

Apply with a piece of lint tied to the end of a stick. 



210. Fevers — Typhus, Typhoid, Malignant, etc. 

For Children. 

Hydrochloric Acid 1 drachm. 

Distilled Water 6 oz. 

Syrup of Mulberry 1 " 

A table-spoonful every four or five hours. 



Appendix. 449 



211. 

For Adults. 
Muriatic or Hydrochloric Acid ... 1 drachni. 

Decoction of Barley . . . . . 1 pint. 

White Sugar . . . . . . ^ oz. 

Take from two to four ounces, twice or three times a day. 



212. 

Nitric Acid, diluted . . . . . 1^ drachms. 

Water . . . . . . . 24 oz. 

Sugar . . . . . . . Ig- " 

Take three ounces three times per day, through a glass 
tube. 

213. 

Mixt. Camphor . . . . . 10 drachms. 

Sulphuric Ether ..... 1 drachm. 

Aromatic Confection ..... 1 scruple. 

Compound Tinct. of Lavender . . . i ^z- 

In Sinking of Fevers. A draught, repeated every four 
hours, or oftener, if symptoms be urgent. 

214. Flatulence ^vith Nausea. 

Angostura Bark, powdered, ] ^ ^ k^- 

^ '^ ' V of each. . 5 grams. 

Rhubarb in powder, j 

To be taken an horn* before dinner. 

215. Gout and Inveterate Rheumatism. 

Spirits of Hartshorn .... 4 drachms. 

Succinic Acid, sufficient to saturate 

Sulphuric Ether . . . . . 4 " 

Twent}^ to forty drops in a glass of sugar and water two 
or three times a day. 



450 



Woman's Medical Companion. 



216. Headache. 




Sulphate of Iron .... 


2 grains. 


Epsom Salts . . . 


2 scruples. 


Diluted Sulphuric Acid 


10 drops. 


Compound Tincture .... 


1 drachm. 


Syrup of Poppies .... 


11- drachms. 


Pimento Water .... 


9 '' 


To be taken at a draught twice a day. 





217. 

Comp. Infusion Senna 
Infusion of Rhubarb . 
Comp. Tinct, Cardamoms . 
SjTup . . . . 

To be taken at a draught. 
of Dyspepsia. 



5 drachms. 
5 

^ drachm. 

1 J- drachms. 

Excellent for the headache 



218. 




Carbonate of Soda ..... 


10 grains. 


Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia . 


1 drachm. 


Tincture of Orange Peel .... 


1 " 


Syrup of Orange Peel .... 


1 


Compound Infusion of Gentian . 


10 drachms. 


To be taken at a draught twice a day. 




219. Hemorrhages. 




Acetate of Lead 


3 grains. 


Opium 


1 grain. 


Extract of Hemlock ..... 


4 grains. 


Divide into two pills. To be given twice 


a day. Drink 



some acidulated draught afterwards, until it ceases. 



Appendix. 



451 



220. Hemorrhages, Spasms, etc. 

Sulplim-ic Acid, diluted . . . . 15 minims. 

Compound Infusion of Roses . . . IJ- oz. 

Sj^rup, simple 1 drachm. 

Make a draught. 



221. 



Sulphuric Acid, 
Nitric Acid, 



\ in equal parts. 
From five to ten drops in an ounce of water. 



222. Hemorrhoids. 




Sulphate of Magnesia 


3 drachms. 


Carbonate of Magnesia 


2 scruples. 


Wine of Colchicum .... 


11 drachms. 


S^Tup of Red Poppy 


^ oz. 


Peppermint Water .... 


4 " 


Distilled Water .... 


. H " 


Two tablespoonfuls twice a day. 




223. 




MorjDhine 


2 grains. 


Olive Oil . . . . . 


2 drachms 


Rub up together and add 




Zinc Ointment 


1 oz. 


Powdered Nutgalls .... 


1 drachm. 



224. 

Confection of Black Pepper ... 1 drachm. 

Assafoetida ...... 5 grains. 

Syrup of Ginger, sufficient to make a uniform confection. 
Twice per day. 



452 



Woman^s Medical Companion. 



225. 

Alum ■. 
Fresh Butter . 
Make an Ointment. 



1 drachm. 
1 oz. 



IJ^oz. 



drachm. 



226. 

Confection of Senna 

Powdered Jalap 

Sulphur ..,,.,, i " 

Syi'up of Senna, sufficient to make an electuary ; taken 
three times a day, until bowels well opened. 



227. 

Slaked Lime 
Ointment of Colocynth 
Wine of Opium 
Make an ointment. 



2 drachms. 
2 oz. 

2 drachms. 



228. 



Hemorrhoids, with Constipation. 
!■ of each 



Bitartrate of Potash, 
Extract of Horehound 

Honey Water 

Half to be taken morning and evening 



2 drachms. 

3 oz. 



229. Hydrocele of Children. 

Muriate of Ammonia .... 1 drachm. 

Liquor Acetate Ammonia . . . . 2 oz. 

Water 4 " 

Lotion : To be kept constantly applied. 



Appendix. 



453 



1 grain. 



230. Hydrocephalus. 

Chloride of Merciiiy ..... 
Powdered Digitahs . . . . . I " 

Powdered Tragacanth (compound) . . 6 gTains. 

Make a powder One every sixth hour, for child of two 
or three j^ears. 



231. Hysteria. 




Tinct. Hj'oscyamus .... 


^ drachm. 


Aromatic Spii'it of Ammonia 


i " 


SjTup of Orange Peel 


i " 


Peppermint Water .... 


10 drachms. 


232. 




Ai'omatic Spirits of Ammonia . 


1^ drachm. 


Sulphuric Ether .... 


1 " 


S^Tup of Ginger .... 


3 drachms 


Anise Water ..... 


31 oz. 



A thii'd part frequently, as occasion requires. 

233. 

^theris Acetici . . . . . 30 minims. 

Camphor Mixtm-e, with Magnesia . . 6 oz. 

To be taken immediately, and repeated every hour if 
necessary. 



234. 



Infusion of Quassia .... 


J- oz. 


Tinct. of Ammonio-Chloride of Iron . 


I drachm. 


Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia . 


6 grains. 


Orange S}Tup ..... 


1 drachm. 


Distilled Water .... 


7 drachms. 



A di'aught to be taken two or three times a day, 



454 



Woman's Medical Companion. 



235. 

Strychnia . 

Compound Rhubarb Pill 
Calomel Pill . 
Oil of Peppermint 

Divide into fifteen pills. 



One twice per day. 



1 grain. 
1 drachm. 
6 grains. 
4 drops. 



236. 



Icterus, Nettle Rash, and Scarlet Fever. 



Pulverized Ipecac 
Pulverized Cayenne . 
Water .... 
To be taken at a draught. 



1 scruple. 
10 grains. 

2 oz. 



237. 

Tartar Emetic 1 grain. 

Pulverized Ipecac ..... 1 scruple. 
Mix, To be taken in a wineglassful of sweetened water. 

238. 

Pulverized Lobelia 1 oz. • 

Pulv. Bloodroot ^ '' 

Pulv. Seneka 1 scruple. 

Pulv. Ipecac 6 drachms. 

Pulv. Cayenne ...... 4 scruples. 

Half-teaspoonful in warm water, repeat every fifteen 
minutes, for one hour. 



239. Indigestion. 

Tincture of Musk Seed . . . . 1 oz. 

Tincture of Hops 3 drachms. 

Liquor of Potash 2 " 

Infusion of Buchu 6 oz. 

Three table-spoonfuls three times a day. 



Appendix. 



455 



240. 

Hydocliloric Acid 
Infusion of Columbo Eoot . 
Tine, of Hops . 

One-sixth part for a dose. 



2 dracliins. 
5^ oz. 



241. 

H3Tlroc3'anic Acid . . . , 
Muriate of Morphia, Tinct. 
Mixt. Tinct. Sweet Ahiionds 

A table-siDOonful three times a day. 



32 drops. 
3 drachms. 
8 oz. 



242. Inflammation of Eye or Ear. 

Tartrate of Antimony . . . . 



1 grain. 

2 pints. 



Decoction of Barley ..... 

Dissolve and add 
SjTup 3 oz 

To be taken by glassfuls in the com:se of the day. 



243. Inflammation of the Mucous Membranes. 

Decoction of Barley (compound) . . 10 oz. 
SjTup of Indian Sarsaparilla ." . . 2 " 

Two table-spoonfuls occasionally. 



244. Inflammatory Complaints of Children — as an Emetic. 

Potassia Tartrate of Antimony ... 1 grain. 

Distilled Water 1^ oz. 

Simple Syrup . . . . . . J- " 

One, two, or three teaspoonfuls every quarter of an hour 
until vomiting is produced. 



456 



Woman's Medical Companion. 



245. 

Citrate of Iron . 
Sulphate of Quinine . 
Ext. Nux Vomica 
Make thii'ty-two pills. 



Influenza. 

. ' . . 1 drachm. 

1 scruple. 
8 grains. 
One pill three times per day. 



246. 



Irritable and Acid Stomach. 



HjTirocyanic Acid, diluted 
Bicarbonate Potassa .... 
Syrup of Ginger .... 
Anise Water . . . . . 
A draught to be taken twice per day 



4 minims. 
10 grains. 
^ drachm. 



247. Itching Eruptions. 

Hydrocyanic Acid, diluted 
Bichloride of Mercury 
Emulsion of Sweet Almonds 
Mix. Make a lotion. 



2 drachms. 
2 grains. 
6 oz. 



248. 

Cyanide of Potassium 
Mixture of Sweet Almonds 
Make a lotion. 



12 grains. 
6 oz. 



249. 

H3^drocyanic Acid, diluted 
Decoction of Mallow Leaves 
Make a lotion. 



4 drachms, 
lib. 



Appendix, 



457 



250. 

Hydrocyanic Acid, diluted 
DistiUed Water 
Acetate of Lead 
Kectified Spirit 
Make a lotion. 



1^ drachms. 

7 oz. 
16 grains. 

2 drachms. 



each 



251. In Tinea Capitis. 

Muriatic Acid, 
Marsh Mallow Ointment, 
Ointment of Juniper 
To be appHed twice a day. 



2 oz. 
2 oz. 



252. Pruritus Vulvae — Itching of the Privates 

Biborate of Soda 

Eose Water 6 " 

Sulphate of Morphia .... 6 grains. 



i oz. 



253. 



Jaundice. 



Calomel Pill . . . . . . 10 grains. 

Powdered Ipecacuanha (compound) . . 5 " 

Divide into 3 pills ; one every 4 hours. 



254. 



Indian Hemp Seed .... 
Light Beer . . . , 

Boil, strain, and add sugar, sufficient. 

Take half pint every morning. 



4 oz. 
2 pints. 



458 



Woman's Medical Companion. 



255. Leucorrhoea, or "Whites. 




Nitrate of Silver Crj- stals 


10 grains. 


Corrosive Sublimate .... 


5 " 


Sugar of Lead 


IJ^ drachms. 


White Vitriol . . . . 


11 - 


Soft Water 


6oz. 


An injection. 




256. 




Powdered Cantharides 


12 grains. 


Ext. Hyoscyamus .... 


1 drachm. 


Nitrate of Silver .... 


10 grains. 


Sulphate of Quinia . . 


2 scruples 



Make 40 piUs ; one every night and morning. 



257. 

Cresote .... 
Liquor Potassa 
White Sugar 

Rub up together, and add 
Distilled Water 

Make an injection. 



20 minims. 
2 di'achms. 
2 " 

8 oz. 



258. 

Powdered Cubebs 

Powdered Ergot 

Compound Powder of Cinnamon 

White Sugar 



1 oz. 

2 drachms. 
2 scruples. 
1 drachm. 



Divide into 8 powders ; one three or four times per day. 



Appendix. 



459 



259. In Labor. 




Powder of Ergot .... 


\ drachni. 


Syrup ...... 


\ oz. 


Peppermint ..... 


1 '' 


A thii'd part eyery 20 minutes. 




260. Laxatives. 




Infusion of Cascarilla 


11 oz. 


Sulphate of Magnesia 


1 drachm. 


Sulphuric Acid, diluted 


15 minims. 



Draught to be taken twice or thrice a day. Also a Tonic. 



261. 



Compound Decoction of Aloes 


3 oz. 


Bi-carbonate of Potass. 


2 drachms 


Ammonia-tartrate of Iron 


. ^ " 


Ai'omatic Spuits of Anmionia . 


3 '' 


Water 


6^ oz. 



A sixth part twice per da3\ Also a Tonic, 



262. Liver Derangement. 

Compound Mixture of Gentian 
Sulphate of Magnesia 

Tinct. Jalap 

Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia . 

A di'aught to be taken in the morning. 



10 drachms. 
3 " 
1 '' 



263. 

Chloride of Mercury 
Compound Ext. Coloc3mth 

Two pills to be taken at bedtime. 



4 grains. 
8 " 



460 Woman's Medical Companion. 



264. 

Powdered Jalap 12 grains. 

Submuiiate of Mercury . . . . 3 " 

Sulphate of Potash 7 " 

Make into a mass. Dose, 20 to 30 grains. 

265. 

Sulphate of Magnesia . . . . i- oz. 

Tinct. Jalap 1 drachm. 

Nitric Acid 2 minims. 

Green Peppeimint Water . . . . 2 oz. 
Make a draught. 

266. Mania, with Torpid Bowels. 

Tinct. Black Hellebore .... 1^ drachms. 

Compound Infusion of Senna . . . 1 oz. 

S^Tup of Ginger ..... 2 di'achms. 
A di-aught to be taken early in the morning. 

267. Measles. 

Fluid Extract Senna .... 1 drachm. 

Compound Fluid Extract Gentian . . i" " 
Fluid Extract of Ginger . . . . J- " 
Aromatic Spirits of Ammonia . . . J- " 
To be taken in wineglass of sweetened water. 

268. 

Tinct. Lobelia J oz. 

S}Tup of Squills . . . . . ^ " 

Twenty drops four or five times a day for a child two 
years old. 



Appendix. 461 



269. 

Tinct. of American Hellebore . . . 1 drachm. 
Tiuct. of Black Cohosh . . . . 2 oz. 
One tea-spoonful three to six times per day. 

270. As a Stimulant. 

Muriate of Ammonia . . . . 1 oz. 

Soft water 9 " 

One table-spoonful three or four times per day. 

271. Painful Menstruation. 

Ext. Belladonna ..... ^ drachm. 

Lard . . . . . . . :^ oz. 

To be rubbed on the neck of the womb. 

272. Profuse Menstruation. 

Wine of Spurred Rye . . . . 2 oz. 
One teaspoonful thi'ee times a day. 

273. Nausea and Vomiting. 

Lime Water, \ ^^t. . ^^ 
New Milk, I eacn^oz. 

A table-spoonful every half-horn-, horn-, or two hours. 

274. Nervous Affections. 

Assafoetida, ] • i 4. 

-r, T ' . . ^ m equal parts. 

Powdered Valerian, j ^ ^ 

SjTup and Tinct. Valerian in sufficient quantity to make 

a mass, and divide into 5 -grain pills. Take two twice per 

day. 



462 Wojfian's Medical Companion. 

275. In Nervous Palpitations. 

Tinct. Digitalis . , . . . 12 minims. 

Mixture of Camphor . . . . 1 oz. 

Orange SjTup 2 drachms. 

Hj'drocj'anic Acid, diluted . . . 1 minim. 

Make a draught. To be taken two or three times per 
day. 

276. 

Solution of Magnesia (with Carbonic Acid) \\ qz. 
Tincture Muriate of Iron . . . . 25 minims. 
A draught to be taken three times a da}', and immediately 
followed by a wineglass of cold or tepid water. 

277. Nervous Debility. 

Disulphate of Quinia . . . . 12 gi'ains. 

Powdered Sugar 2 drachms. 

Divide into six powders. One night and morning. 

278. 

Disulphate of Quinia . . . . 15 grains. 

Cinnamon Powder ^ drachm. 

Extract of Cinchona . . . .20 grains. 

To make thirty pills. Four every second, thkd, or 
fourth hour. 

279. 

Sulphate of Quinine . . . . 32 gi-ains. 

Simple S3TUP . . . . . . 8 oz. 

Make a Quinine SjTup. Two teaspoonfuls two or thi'ee 
times per day. 



Appendix. 



463 



280. 



Neuralgia of the Bladder, etc. 



Arsenious Acid 
PoTvdered Opium 
StiTchnia . 
Extract Aconite 

Divide into sixteen pills 
ensues, take only half a pill 



2 grains. 

5 " 
1 " 



One every six houi's ; if nausea 



281. Neuralgia. 

Distilled Water 2 oz. 

Valerianic Acid . . . . . 1 " 

Subcarbonate of Ammonia enough to neutralize the acid ; 
then add Alcoholic Extract of Valerian, 2 scruples. A tea- 
spoonful thi'ee times per day. 



282. 

Ext. Hyoscyamus 
Sulphate of Morphia 
Str3^chnine 
Pulv. Ca3xnne . 
Sulphate of Zinc 
Make thirty pills. 



^ drachm. 
3 gi-ains. 
2 " 
^ drachm. 
15 grains. 
Take one four times per day. 



283. For Neuralgia of the Face. 

Ext. of Hyoscyamus .... ^ drachm. 

Valerianate of Zinc ..... 1 scruple. 

Make thirty pills. Take one two or three times per day. 



284. Sore Nipples. 

Powdered Gum Arabic .... J- drachm. 

Powdered Alum. ..... 5 grains. 

Make a powder. Apply as often as necessary. 



464 Woman's Medical Companion, 



285. Nurse's Sore Mouth. 

Nitrate of Silver 8 grains. 

Distilled water . . . . . . 4 oz. 

Make a gargle. 

286. Offensive Breath. 

Charcoal of White Wood, powdered . . 1 oz. 

Orange S;yTup 3 " 

Make an electuary. One or two teaspoonfiils every two 
hours. 

287. Paralysis, Rheumatism, etc. 

Flowers of Arnica 1 oz. 

Water 2^ pints. 

Boil to a pint and a half, and add 
SjTup of Ginger . . . . . 2 oz. 

Take from two to three ounces every second hour. 

288. Paralysis. 

Dried Juice of Spurge . . . . 1 drachm, 

Olive-oil 10 drachms. 

Digest for ten daj^s and strain. Used in rubbing. 

289. Pimply Eruptions. 

Nitric Acid, diluted ^ drachm. 

Decoction of Barley . ' . . . 1 pint. 

A wine-glassful to be taken three times per day. 

290. Pleurisy, Colic. 

Compound Extract of Colocynth . . ^ drachm. 

Extract of Jalap . . . . . 15 grains. 

Mix. Make twelve pills. Two or three pills will pro- 
duce active operation of the bowels. 



Appendix. 



465 



291. 

Fluid Ext. Sarsaparilla 
Fluid Ext. Pipsissewa 
Water ..... 
Iodide of Potassium . 

A tablespoonful three times a day 



4 oz. 
1 " 

1 quart. 

2 oz. 



292. 



Wine of Ipecac 


... 1 oz. 


Spiiits of Turpentine 


.... 1 " 


Castor-oil 


1 " 


Molasses . 


^ pint. 


Warm Water . 


. . . . . J '' 


Mix. 




293. 




Thoroughwort . 


1 oz. 


Senna 


1 " 


Lobelia . 


. . ^ drachm. 


Caj'enne . 


10 grains. 


Epsom Salts 


1 tablespoonful. 


Molasses . 


ipiiit- 


Boiling Water . 


1 " 



Make a strong decoction of the herbs, and then add the 

salt and the molasses. 



294. Pneumonia, Typhoid Fever. 

Bicarbonate of Soda .... 

Compound Infusion of Gentian 
Tincture of Colombo .... 

S^Tup of Orange Peel .... 
A tablespoonful three times per day. 



4 " 
1 " 



466 Woman's Medical Companion. 



295. 

Sulphate of Quinine ..... 1 scruple. 

Alcohol . . . . . . . . 4 oz. 

Sulphuric Acid 5 drops. 

Madeira Wine . . . . . . 1 quart. 

Two wineglassfuls per da}-. 

296. 

Eose Water 6 oz. 

S^Tup of Orange Peel . . . . 1 '' 

Muriated Tincture of Iron . . . 1 " 

For adults, one teaspoonful in a wineglass of water after 
each meal. 

297. Rheumatism. 

Diluted Acetic Acid . . . . . 1 drachm. 

Tinct. Jalap . . . . . . 15 minims. 

Tinct. Orange 1 drachm. 

Camphor Mixture ..... 10 drachms. 
A draught to be taken two or three times per da}^ 

298. Rheumatism and Cell-Dropsy. 



Tinct. Black Cohosh 


• • 


. 


1 oz. 


Iodide of Potassium 


. 


. 


2 drachms 


S}Tup of Ipecac 


. 


. 


1 oz. 


Spring Water . 


. 


. 


2 "■ 


A teaspoonful three or four times per 


day. 




299. Rheumatism. 






Peppermint Water . 


. 


. 


lioz. 


Wine of Colchicum Root . 


, , 


. 


h " 


Sulphate of Morphia 


. 


. 


1 grain. 


Magnesia 


. 


. 


1 scruple. 



One teaspoonful three or four times per day. 



Appendix. 



467 



300. Ring^T-orm. 

Pulverized Sulphate of Copper . 
Ext. Spanish Flies . . . . 

Lard ...... 

Rub into the scalp or part affected. 



10 grains. 
5 " 
1 oz. 



301. 

Castor-oil 
Pure Alcohol . 
Pulv. Spanish Flies 
Oil of Bergamot 
Otto of Roses . 

A superior preparation for keeping 
and to prevent dandruff. Let the mixture stand for a few 
da3-s and then filter. 



2^ pounds. 
2 J- pints, 
i oz. 

20 drops, 
the hair from falling, 



302. Small-Pox, Angina Pectoris. 

Spirits of Mindererus . . . . 
Sweet Spmts of Nitre . . . 
One teaspoonful every three hours. 



2oz. 

1 <-' 



303. 

Comp. Tinct. of Cardamoms . . . 2 oz. 

Comp. Tinct. of Lavender . . . 2 " 

Comp. Tinct. of Gentian . . . . 2 " 

One teaspoonful at a time, as occasion may require. 



304. 






Pulv. Gum Arabic . 


. 


1 scruple 


Soft Water 


. 


2 oz. 


Sweet Spirits of Mtre 


. 


. . ^ " 


Tinct. Veratrum Viride 


• 


20 drops. 


Half a teaspoonful every 


hour. 





468 Woman's Medical Companion. 



305. 

Aromatic Spiiits of Ammonia ... 2 drachms. 

Ether . . . . . . . 1 ckachm. 

Laudanum . . . . . . 20 di'Oi)s. 

Spmts of Camphor 1 di'achm. 

Half a teaspoonful as often as requii'ed. 



306. Scrofula and LeucorrhcEa. 

Sesquioxide of Iron. ) 

Extract of Hemlock. I "f^^^'^ ■ " 1 di-achm. 

Make into twentj-foui' pills. Two twice per day. 

307. Scrofula. 

Oxysulphuret of Antimony, ) 

Chloride of Mercury, 'j of each . ^ drachm. 

Ammonia 1 " 

Balsam of Peru ..... sufficient. 

Make thuty j)ills. Take one or two every night. 

308. Scrofulous and Cancerous Affections. 

Chloride of Bar3i:a 1 oz. 

Mm-iatic Acid 4 drops. 

Four di'ops, increasing to ten drops, twice per day. 

309. Sore Throat. — Malignant. 

H3'dro chloric Acid ..... 1^ drachms. 
Decoction of Cinchona, 
Compound Infusion of Roses, 



2 



Honey of Eoses 
Make a gargle. 



Appendix. 



469 



310. 

Infusion of Sage 
Hydrochloric Acid 
S}Tup of Mulberry 
Make a gargle. 



8 oz. 
1^ drachms. 
2 oz. 



311. 



Putrid Sore Throat. 



H3^drochloric Acid . 
Infusion of Cinchona 
Honey of Roses 
Make a gargle. 



15 minims. 
4 oz. 

1 <-' 



312. 



In Common Sore Throat. 



Decoction of Quince Seed . 
S^Tup of Sage . 
Hydrochloric Acid . 
Make a gargle. 



7 oz. 
1 '' 
20 to 30 minims. 



313. 



Tonics. 



Decoction of Cinchona .... 10 drachms. 

Aromatic Confection .... 1 scruple. 

Compound Tincture of Cinchona . . 1 drachm. 
A draught to be taken every fourth hour. 



314. 



Infusion of Gentian (compound) . . 
Compound Tinct. Gentian 
Orange S}Tup ..... 
A draught to be taken twice per day. 



9 drachms. 
2 " 
1 drachm. 



470 



Woman's Medical Companion. 



315. 

Infusion of Roses . . . . . 10 drachms. 

Aromatic Sulphuric Acid . . . . 15 minims. 

Tincture of Rhatany ... . . 1 drachm. 

Mix with Diluted Spirits . . . . 2 pints. 

Syrup of Red Poppy .... 1 drachm. 
A draught to be taken three times per day. 



316. 

Infusion of Orange . 

Aromatic Tincture of Rhatany, ] 

Syrup of Ginger, J 

Three tablespoonfuls three times a day. 



of each 



6 oz. 
1 '' 



5 minims. 



317. 

Hydrochloric Acid, diluted, l 

Nitric Acid, \oi^^\ . 

Compound Mixture of Gentian . . 10 drachms. 

Draught three times per day. Also, laxative in its 
effects. 



318. 



Sulphuric Acid, diluted . ... 


12 minims. 


Infusion Cascarilla ..... 


10 drachms 


Orange Syrup 


1 drachm. 


Draught to be taken three times per day. 




319. 




Sulphuric Acid, diluted .... 


40 minims. 


Compound Spirits Ether . 


2 drachms. 


White Sugar 


2" ^2* 



Green Peppermint Water . 

A fourth part four times per day. 



Appendix, 



471 



320. Tonic in Dyspepsia. 




Powdered Ehubarb ..... 


1 drachm. 


Magnesia ...... 


1 J- drachms. 


Powdered Ginger ..... 


1 scruple. 


Peppermint Water . . . . . 


1 pint. 


Mix. Dose, one-half ounce. 




321. Toothache. 




Tannic Acid 


1 drachm. 


Mastich 


1 '' 


Sulphuric Ether 


l^oz. 



To be introduced, on cotton, into a hollow tooth. 

322. 

Powdered Resin |^ drachm. 

Chloroform sufficient to dissolve the Resin. 

Steep a small piece of cotton in the preparation, and 
place it in the hollow of the tooth. 



323. 

Canada Balsam 
Slaked Lime 
Pressed into the cavity. 



1 drachm. 
1 " 



324. 

Oil of Cloves . 
Cajeput Oil 
Powdered Opium, 
Camphor, 
Rectified Spirit, sufficient to dissolve. 
Apply as above, or to the swollen gums. 



of each 



1 drachm. 
1 " 

^ scruple. 



472 Woman's Medical Compaition. 

325. Typhus, and Other Fevers. 

Powdered Scammony, ^ 

Powdered Aloes, J- of each . . 2 grains. 

Chloride of Mercury, J 

Make two pills. To be taken at once. 



326. Ulcerated Mucous Membranes, Mouths, etc. ; and In- 
flammation of Mouth in Infants. 

Sugar of Lead . . . . . . 3 grains. 

Soft Water ..... 1 oz. 

As a wash. 

327. 

Sulphate of Copper . . .. . . ^drachm. 

Soft Water ...... 1 oz. 

To be applied twice a day to the ulcers in gangrene of 
the mouth. 

328. 

Creosote 1 drachm. 

Alcohol . 1 " 

To be applied with a camel's-hair pencil to the gangre- 
nous ulcers of the mouth, after running a lancet through the 
sloughs. 

329. 

Acid Nitrate of Mercury .... ^ drachm. 

Soft Water 1 oz. 

To be injected into the throat with the shower-s^Tinge, or 
applied to the ulcers with a pencil. 



Appendix. 



,473 



330. For Curdy Patches in CMldren's Mouths. 

H3'drochloric Acid ..... 1 drachm. 

Honey 1 oz. 

331. Vomiting. 

Ext. Belladonna . . . v . . 6 grains. 

Piilv. Ipecac ...... 10 grains. 

Confection of Roses 2 grains. 

Make thirty pills. One pill twice per day. 



332. 

Compound Infusion of Orange 
Green Beppermint (Spirit) 
Liquor of Potass 
Carbonate of Magnesia 
Tinct. H^'oscyamus . 
Extract Hops . 
Syrup of Ginger 

Mix. Make a draught. 



10 drachms. 

1 drachm. 
10 drops. 

1 scruple. 

^ drachm. 

8 grains. 

1 di-achm. 



333. 

Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia . 
Gum Tragacanth 
Distilled Water 

Mix. A teaspoonful every hour. 



2 drachms. 
1 scruple. 
7 fluid oz. 



334. Vomiting. 

Creosote ...... 

Pulv. Tragacanth .... 

Camphor Mixture .... 

A sixth part to be taken for a dose. 



^ drachm. 



G oz. 



474 



Woman's Medical Companion, 



335. For Wind and Belching. 

Powdered Chamomile 
Long Pepper Powder 
Powdered Aloes .... 
A powder, to be taken every night. 



^ scruple. 
3 grains. 
1 grain. 



336. 



"Worms. 



Garlic Bulbs ...... 4 drachms. 

Milk 8oz. 

Boil gently and strain, to make an enema. 



337. 

Decoction Aloes . . . . . 1^ oz. 

Extract Liquorice 2 drachms. 

Wine of Aloes ..... 2 " 

One or two teaspoonfuls twice a day. 



338. 

Oil of Almonds, 



of each 



1 oz. 



Distilled Water, 
Sesquicarbonate of Ammonia (Liquor) . 20 minims. 
A draught. To be taken every morning on an empty 
stomach. 



339. 



To prevent the Breeding of Worms. 



Hydrochloric Acid, diluted 
Infusion of Quassia . 
Syrup of Orange 

Take one-fourth twice per day. 



2 drachms. 

71 oz. 

2-OZ. 



Appendix. 475 



340. To Expel Tape-"Worms. 

Gamboge ....... ^ scruple. 

Sulphate of Iron . . . . . 6 grains. 

IMiite Sugar . . . . . . 1 scruple. 

Peppermint Water ..... 3 drops. 

Make a powder. Prepare six similar doses. One to be 
taken every four houi's until expelled. 



476 Woman's Medical Compajtion. 



APPENDIX C. 

DOMESTIC RECEIPTS. 

"Whooping-cough Syrup. 

Onions and garlics sliced, of each 1 gill ; sweet oil, 
1 gill ; stew them in the oil in a covered dish, to retain the 
juices ; then strain and add honey, 1 gill ; paregoric and 
spirits of camphor, of each one-half oz., bottle and cork 
tight for use. Dose for a child of two or three years, 
1 teaspoonful three or four times daily, increasing accord- 
ing to age. 

^ DiarrhcEa Tincture. 

Compound tincture of myrrh, 6 oz. ; tincture of rhubarb 
and spirits of lavender, of each 5 oz., tincture of opium, 
3 oz. ; oils of cinnamon and anise, with gum camphor 
and tartaric acid, each \ oz. Dose, 1 teaspoonful in half 
a teacupful of warm water sweetened with loaf sugar. 
Repeat after each passage. 



Cathartic. 

Jalap and peppermint leaf, each 1 oz., senna, 2 oz., 
powder finel}^ and sift through gauze. Bottle it, and keep it 
corked. Mix a good teaspoonful of the powder, and an 
equal quantity of sugar, into a wineglassful of boiling 
water ; when cool, stir and drink. Repeat every three 
hours until operation. 



Appendix. ^11 



Small-poz. 

To prevent Pitting the Face. — A great discoveiy has 
recentlj' been made bj^ a surgeon of the English army in 
China, to prevent pitting or marking the face. The mode 
of treatment is as follows : — 

When, in small-pox, the preceding fever is at its height, 
and just before the eruption appears, the chest is thoroughly 
rubbed with croton oil and tartar-emetic ointment. This 
causes the whole of the eruption to appear on that part of 
the bod}^ to the relief of the rest. It also secures a full 
and complete eruption, and thus prevents the disease from 
attacking the internal organs. This is said to be now the 
established mode of treatment in the English army in 
China, by general orders, and is regarded as perfectly 
effectual. 

Female Laxative Pill. 

. Aloes, macrotin, and cream of tartar, of each 2 drs. ; 
podophylUn, 1 dr. ; make into common-sized pills by using 
oil of peppermint, 15 to 20 drops, and thick solution of gum 
mucilage. Dose, one pill at bed-time, and sufficiently 
often to keep the bowels just in a healthy condition. 

If the aloes should not agree with the patient, the fol- 
lowing ma}' be used : — 

Female Laxative and Anodyne Pill. 

Macrotin and rhubarb, of each 10 grs. ; extract of hyos- 
cj^amus, 10 grs. ; Castile soap, 40 grs. ; scrape the soap and 
mix well together, forming into common-sized pills with 
gum solution. Dose, one pill, as the other, or sufficiently 
often to keep the bowels in proper condition, but not too 
free. The h3'Osc3'amus tends to quiet the nerves without 
constipating the bowels. 



478 Woman's Medical Companion, 

To soothe and quiet the nervous system and pains, if very 
violent, when the courses commence, or during their progress, 
make the following : — 



Pill for Painful Menstruation — Anodyne. 

Extract of stramonium and sulphate of quinine, of each 16 
grs. ; macrotin, 8 grs. ; morphine, 1 gr. ; make into 8 pills. 
Dose, one pill, repeating once or twice only, 40 to 50 
minutes apart, if the pain does not subside before this time. 

The advantage of this pill is that costiveness is not in- 
creased, and pain must subside under its use. 



Tea — Injection for Leucorrhea. 

When the glairy mucous discharge is present, prepare a 
tea of hemlock, inner bark, and witch hazel (often called 
spotted alder) leaves and bark ; have a female syiinge 
sufficiently large to fill the vagina, and inject the tea, twice 
daily ; and occasionally, in bad cases, say twice a week^ 
inject a syringe of the following : — 



Injection for Chronic Female Complaints. 

White vitriol and sugar of lead, of each | oz. ; common 
salt, loaf sugar, and pulverized alum, of each \ dr. ; soft 
water 1 pt. Simmer all over a slow fire for 10 or 15 min- 
utes ; when cool, strain and bottle for use, keeping well 
corked. Inject as mentioned in the paragraph above, hold- 
ing the s}Tinge in place for a minute or two at least. This 
injection is valuable in diseases of the generative organs for 
males and females. 



Appejidix, 479 



STIIVIULANTS. 

Stimulants are medicines -which increase and sustain the 
action of the heart. They are often useful in diseases 
characterized by great prostration, and in convalescence 
from fevers, etc. Brand}^, whiskey, wine, etc., are stimu- 
lants, and maybe used in appropriate cases, in proper quan- 
tities, three to six times a day. The dose of brandy or 
whiskey should not, as a general rule, exceed one to two 
table-spoonfuls. If wine be used, about two ounces maybe 
given. 

Alcoholic Stimulants should not be continued longer 
than they are required as medicines; for the daily use of 
spirituous hquors, by persons in health, is very injurious, 
and tends to undermine the constitution and bring on serious 
and even fatal diseases of the brain, liver, and kidneys. 

Wine "Whey. 

Take of good milk, one-half pint ; heat to the boiling 
point ; then add of sherry wine, one gill ; strain, and add 
of white sugar one ounce, and a little nutmeg. 

There are few mild stimulants more employed or more 
useful, than wine whey. The dose must be regulated by 
the circumstances of the case. From one gill to a pint may 
be taken during the day. 

Egg-Nog. 

Take the White and Yolk of . . . 4 eggs. 

White Sugar . . . . 1 oz. 
Beat well together, then add 

Sherrj' Wine . . . . 2 oz. 

Water ..... 4 oz. 

Grated nutmeg to taste. The above is sufficient for about 
four doses. Stimulant and nutritious. 



480 Tl^oi7ta7t's Medical Companion. 



Milk Punch. 

Take of good Brand}' .... 1 gill. 

Fresh Milk J- pint. 

White Sugar . . . . 1 oz. 

A little grated nutmeg. 
Mix. A table- spoonful or more may be taken every hour 
or two in low fevers, and other diseases characterized by 
great prostration. 



Mixture of Carbonate of Ammonia. 

Take of Carbonate of Ammonia . . 2 drachms. 

"White Sugar .... 3 " 

Powdered Gum Ai'abic . . 3 " 

Spearmint Water ... \ pint. 

IMix. Give a table-spoonful every two houi's. 



ANTHELMINTICS. 

Anthelmintics are medicines which are taken to destroy 
and bring away worms from the alimentary canal. They 
are frequently termed vermifuges. 

Fluid Extract of Pinkroot and Senna with Santonin. 

Take of Fluid Extract of Pinkroot and Senna 2 oz. 

Santonin 16 grains. 

Mix. Give a child, two j^ears old, a teaspoonful night 
and morning, until purging takes place. This is verj^ effect- 
ual for removing the common round-worm. 



Appendix. 481 



Mixture of the Extract of Male Fern. 

Take of Ethereal Fluid Extract of Male 

Fern ..... \ drachm. 

S3T11P of Gum Arabic . . . 1 oz. 

Mix. Shako well before using. Take one-half at bed- 
time, and the remainder early in the morning, on an empty 
stomach. Used for tape-worm. If the worm does not 
come awa}' in six or eight hours after the last dose, take 
some mild purgative, as castor-oil. 

For Pin-Worms. — Injections are the most certain of all 
remedies for ascarides, or " pin-worms." 

Injection of Salt Water. 

Take of Common Fine Salt . . . 1 oz. 

Warm Water .... 1 quart. 

Mix. One-half or even the whole may be injected into 
the bowel of an adult, and retained fifteen minutes, if 
possible. It should be repeated once or twice a day for a 
week or two. When used for children, let the quantity be in 
proportion to age. 



OINTMENTS. 
Simple Ointment. 
Take of Fresh Lard . . . . - . 3 oz. 

White Wax . . . " . 1 or 2 " 

Oil of Sweet Almonds . .. 1 " 

Melt together, and stir until cool. If for winter use, one 
ounce of white wax will be sufficient, but if for warm 
weather, use two ounces. A few drops of oil of rose added 
when nearly cool, will give it a fine odor, but this is not 
essential. Useful in dressing wounds, burns, scalds, blisters, 
cuts, and sores of almost every description. 



482 Woman's Medical Companion, 



Resin Ointment. (Basilicon Ointment.) 

Take of Powdered Resin . . . . 1 oz. 

Yellow Wax . . • • i " 

Fresh Lard, or Simple Ointment . 2= " 

Melt with a gentle heat, strain through flannel, and stir 

constantl}^ until cool. Useful in dressing indolent ulcers, 

sores, wounds, etc., where something more stimulating and 

adhesive than simple ointment is required. 

Compound Sulphur Ointment. 

This can be bought at the apothecaries. Used for diseases 
of the skin ; itch, ringworm, etc. 

Simple Sulphur Ointment. 

Take of Lac Sulphur .... \ pound. 

Fresh Lard .... 1 " 

Oil of Bergamot . . . . 2 drachms. 

Mix well. Used in itch. In making simple sulphur 

ohitment, the sublimed sulphur is generally used, but I 

prefer the precipitated or lac sulphur. 

Astringents for E2:ternal Use. 

Tannin, powdered matico leaves, alum, etc., are often 
useful to check bleeding from superficial wounds. In bleed- 
ing from the nose they may be used in solution, or the dry 
powder may be used as snuff. 



BLISTERS 



Are those articles which produce a serous or watery dis- 
charge beneath the cuticle, — the blister of common language. 



Appendix. 483 



Blistering Plaster. 

This may be made by spreading blistering ointment on 
leather, cloth, or adhesive j^laster. It maj^ be of any size 
required, from one to six or eight inches square. It should 
remain on the part until a good blister has formed ; then re- 
move it, and dress the blister with simple ointment, or 
sweet oil. This is sometimes termed a " Fly-blister," the 
active ingredient being Cantharides, — Spanish flies. 

Aqua Ammonia, Mustakd, and some other articles, will 
"blister," but the ordinary /?/-6Zi5^er is preferable in most 
cases. 

Mustard Plaster. 

Take of Powdered Black Mustard . . 1 oz. 

"Water sufficient to make a paste or poultice. 

The uses of the mustard plaster are too well known to re- 
quire description. It is sometimes made by adding an 
equal quantity of flaxseed or Indian meal ; this should 
always be done for children, or persons of delicate skin. It 
should be kept on as long as it can be borne, which will not 
generally be longer than half an hour. 

Ground Black Pepper. 
If mustard is not at hand, this may be taken as a sub- 
stitute. 

Onion Poultice. 

Onions are often used in cases of croup, and in diseases 
of the chest in children, as re\Tilsives and antispasmodics. 

Ha^-ing been partiall}^ roasted, mashed, and spread 
between two folds of thin muslin, they may be applied over 
the chest, and permitted to remain as long as they retain 
their warmth and moisture. 



484 Woman s Medical Compc 



EYE WASHES. 

Sulphate of Zinc Eye Wash. 

Take of Sulphate of Zinc .... 2 grains. 

Rose TTater . . . . • 1 oz. 

]yiix. Drop a little into the e^-e, two or three times a 
day, when sore or inflamed. 

Acetate of Zinc Eye "Wash. 

Take of Acetate of Zinc .... 2 grains. 

Rose Water 1 oz. 

Mix. Use three or four times a day, for sore eyes. 

Sugar of Lead Eye Wash. 

Take of Sugar of Lead .... 2 grains. 

Rose Water . . . . . > 1 oz. 
Mix. Excellent for inflamed eyes. It should be used 
two or three times a day. 



WASH FOR THE EAR. 

Goulard's Extract and Rose "Water. 

Take of Goulard's Extract (Liquid Subace- 

tateof Lead) .... ^ drachm. 

Glj^cerine . . . . . 1 " 

Rose Water 2 oz. 

Mix. This ma}^ be dropped into the ear until the ca\dty 
is full, and be allowed to remain there for a few minutes. 
Use morning and night. For running from the ear. 



Appendix. 485 



Solution of Nitrate of Silver. 
Take of Nitrate of Silver .... 10 grains. 
Distilled Water . . . . 1 oz. 

Mix. Used in ulceration, attended by discharges of 
matter (pus) from the ear. Dip a camel's-hair brush into 
the solution, and apply every second or third day. Between 
the applications use the preceding recipe. 



FOMENTATIONS. 

Fomentations, used warm, or hot, are good counter-irri- 
tants. They may be made by dipping a piece of flannel, 
folded several times, in warm or hot water, allowing it to 
remain three to five minutes, and then wringing it nearly 
dr}'. It should be of sufficient size to well cover the part to 
which it is applied. A piece of oiled silk or a dry cloth maj^ 
be placed over it, to prevent evaporation. Fomentations 
should generally be about as hot as the patient can bear, 
where active counter-irritation is indicated, and must be 
renewed. every ten or fifteen minutes. In pleurisy, conges- 
tion of the lungs, lung fever, and inflammation of the bowels, 
oil of turpentine may be gently ajiplied to the parts, before 
appl}ing the hot cloths ; or it may be sprinkled upon them. 



MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS. 
Tooth- Ache Drops. 

Take of Mastic 1 drachm. 

Chloroform . . . . . 1 oz. 

INIix. Moisten with the solution cotton enough to fill the 
cavity of the tooth, and press it well in. 



486 



Woman^s Medical Companion, 



Another. 






Take of Oil of Cloves 


, 


1 drachm. 


Chloroform . 


. 


1 " 


Mix.. Use as directed above. Oil 


of cloves alone is 


excellent. 






Another. 






Take of Gum Camphor . . 


. - 


2 <^^* 


Strongest Alcohol 


. 


1 " 


Mix in a mortar, and rub until the camphor is dissolved. 


Use as above. 






Tooth Powder. 






Take of Prepared Chalk . 


. 


1 oz. 


Powdered Orris Root . 


. 


1 '' 


Powdered Castile Soap . 


. 


2 drachms. 


Mix. Use after breakfast and supper. 






Another. 






Take of Powdered Orris Root . 




1 oz. 


Powdered Peruvian Bark 




1 drachm. 


Powdered Gum M3Trh 




1 u 
2 


Powdered Cinnamon Bark . 




1 " 


Bicarbonate of Soda 




1^ drachms. 


Mix. Use as above. 







PREPARATIONS FOR THE HAIR. 
Hair Oil. 
Take of Castor Oil 2 oz. 



Glycerine 
Cologne Spirit 
Oil of Bergamot 
Oil of Rose . 



2 drachms. 
2 oz. 

1 drachm. 
4 drops. 



Mix. 



Appendix. 487 



Another. 

Take of Olive or Castor Oil . . . 3^ oz. 

Glycerine ..... 2 drachms. 

Oil of Jessamine .... 1 drachm. 

Oil of Orange .... 1 '' 
Mix. 



4S8 Woma7i's Medical Companio7i. 



APPEIS'DIX I>. 

VARIOUS METHODS OF BATHINO. 

It would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of 
ablution as a means of preserving and maintaining health. 
In the earliest ages it was strictly enjoined on all ^Dersons, 
young and old ; and want of cleanliness was xDunished as a 
crime. In both the Jewish and Mohammedan religions 
constant ablutions (four or six times a day) were prescribed 
as an essential part of religious dut}^ The ancient philoso- 
phers, too, continually inculcated in their orations and 
writings the absolute necessity and beneficial influences of 
cleanhness. Aristotle describes it as one of the half vui:ues. 
Cicero taught his disciples to ' ' preserve health by atten- 
tion to the body and temperance in living," and the inhabi- 
tants of the East have for the last six thousand 3'ears 
looked upon bathing and washing, not only as an imperative 
dut}^ but a positive necessity and indescribable luxury, far 
more important to life than even food itself. And, theoret- 
ically^ it occupies an equalh^ prominent position in the sani- 
tary and hygienic laws of the most civilized communities of 
the present age, England and America; but, unfortunately'' 
for the health, comfort, and physical and mental development 
of the masses of the people, there is, in this much-boasted 
nineteenth century, far too much theory, and comparatively 
little practical application of these first principles of cleanli- 
ness, especially among the more educated classes, to whom 
we would naturally look for a strict adherence to Nature's 
laws. Dr. Guy, an eminent member of the Medical Faculty 



Appendix. 489 



in England, remarks that " a want of personal cleanliness 
is more frequenth'^ chargeable against persons of edncation 
than might at first sight be thought possible." The fact is, 
it is one thing to know what is right, and another to con- 
scientiously act upon that knowledge. The practice of dail}' 
ablution (5f the whole body is observed by a ver}^ small 
number of the community, despite its acknowledged neces- 
sity. 

In thickty populated towns and cities, especial^, many 
hundreds of thousands of lives might be saved if soap and 
water were but freely used. Cholera, typhoid fever, small- 
pox, and skin diseases of all kinds, would be effectually and 
permanently di'iven from the land if daily ablution were 
systematically and compulsorily practised. Want of clean- 
liness has caused more misery, desolated more homes, 
originated more crime, and peopled many more church-j^ards, 
than all the wars that have occurred since the creation of the 
world. There are many 

Absurd Prejudices against frequent Bathing 

among all classes of the people ; one would almost think 
that an h3'drophobic mania had seized civilized communities, 
— for they seem to be frightened of the sight of or contact 
with water, so far as the ablution of the entire body is 
concerned (except in the warmest weather) . A ludicrous 
illustration of the reluctance to perform this operation, 
occurs to us at this moment. 



Dean S"wift's Satire upon Uncle anliness. 

While this eminent satirist was staying at his episcopal resi- 
dence near Dublin, one of his servants (who had evidentl}^ not 
washed his hands and face for some da3's) approached him. 



490 Woman^s Medical Companion, 

"James," said the dean, "when did 3'ou last wash 3'oiir- 
self?" " Yesterday morning, your reverence," the servant 
rephed. The dean put on a very solemn countenance, and 
said : " I should seriousl}^ ad\^se you to discontinue such a 
useless and unnecessary practice, for two or three reasons. 
1st, on the score of econom}^ : soap and water cost money, 
and washing involves an expenditure of time, money, and 
trouble. 2d, as a matter of personal comfort : j^ou must 
bear in mind that the dirt on 3^our skin will keep you warm ; 
and that if 3'ou wash ^^ourself one morning 3'ou must repeat 
the operation daih', else 3'ou will get dirt}" again ; so that I 
would, if I were 3'ou, let it remain." It need scarcel}" be 
said that the servant, w^ho was constitutionallj" laz3", took 
the advice literally, and refrained from washing himself 
afterward. 

Beneficial Effects of Daily Bathing. 

In our chapter on Hygiene we have defined the various 
methods of bathing, and the benefits du'ectl3" derivable from 
the constant adoption of the practice ; but we desu-e spe- 
ciall3' to call the attention of our readers to the fact that 
warm and towel and sponge baths, or even wash-tub 
baths, persistentl}' adopted, not only keep the bod}^ in a 
vigorous, healthy condition, but in our variable climate are 
absolute j^reventives against catching cold, and ensure to 
the skin the proper and unimpeded performance of its func- 
tions. Persons in ordinar3" health should use either of the 
baths we have named, at least twice each week, if they wish 
to keep perfectl3' clean. 

The Functions of the Skin. 

The pores of the skin are the great avenues of egress and 
ingress for the human body, — the direct means b}" which we 



Appendix. 491 



exhale the noxious mephitic elements, and absorb or in- 
hale the regenerating influences of pure water, pure 
air, etc. There are more than two thousand of these re- 
spiratory tubes to the square inch, and as a person of 
average size and height has about two thousand five hundred 
square inches of surface, the number of tubes in the skin 
of one person is seven millions^ each about a quarter of an 
inch in length, making an aggregate length of tubing in 
the human skin of twenty-eight miles. Now, imagine the 
irreparable injury occasioned by the continued obstruction 
of those delicate ducts or tubes. If the organs of respira- 
tion and inspiration are prevented from performing their 
office, the whole of the complicated machinery of man is 
necessarily deranged and debilitated, and an interminable 
series of chronic diseases originated. But the evil does not 
rest here : the mental faculties are proportionately deterio- 
rated, dwarfed, and demoralized as bodily cleanliness is 
neglected. The poet of Nature, Thomson, says : — 



Even from the body's purity the mind 
Receives a secret, sympathetic aid. 



Directions for Bathing. 



In all descriptions of bathing, great care should be taken 
to avoid imparting a "shock" to the system by sudden 
plunging, or other application of warm or cold water to the 
body. Water below 75° is considered cold, and, if applied 
to persons in ordinary health, is a powerful and efficient 
tonic, adding greatly to the strength, vigor, and compact- 
ness or firmness of the body. With the exceptions elsewhere 
named, it is alwa^'s advisal)le to keep the temperature of 
the bath as near 75° as practicable or consistent with the 
comfort of the patient. 



492 Wo7naiis Medical Companion. 

The Sponge Bath 

is the simplest, most agreeable, and certainl}' the most 
efficacious method of bathing, if practised daily in the morn- 
ing. Those who are feeble should expose onl}^ a ^^art of 
the body at a time, quickh' sponging and dr3-ing it, and 
proceeding in this way until the entire surface has been 
subjected to the bracing influence of water and friction. 
The onh^ apparatus necessary for this is a good-sized sponge, 
a basin, and a towel. 

The Shower Bath 

requires great care and discrimination in its use. Either 
warm or cold water ma}' be used, or both successively, but 
especial caution is necessarj^ to let the shower be more after 
Nature's pattern — gentle, regular, equal in quantitj^, and 
not in sudden spasmodic spirts. It will then prove, what 
it was originall}" intended to be, a means of invigoration 
and stimulation, which the feeblest invalid might bear with- 
out injury. 

The Cold Bath 

and its application has been treated of in the earlier part of 
this work, and is onlj- referred to here to intimate to our 
readers that it is the most easil}^ arranged of any of the 
modes of bathing (the sponge-bath excepted.) An ordinary 
wash-tub, with a coarse towel and a flesh-brush or horse- 
hair glove, is all that is required to render it a pleasurable, 
healthful, and invigorating preparation for the labors and 
occupations of the day, and an efficient preservative against 
infection and the ordinary ailments of humanity. 



Appendix. 493 



The Sitz-Bath. 

We have referred in various parts of this volume to the 
use of the Sitz-bath (or Sitting Bath) as a remedial agenc}^, 
and as an invaluable tonic for the stomach, hver, bowels, 
spine, uterine organism, in eruptive fevers, etc. An oixli- 
nar}^ wash-tub is all that is required, sufficiently large to 
permit of the immersion of the bod}' just above the hips ; 
soap ma}" or ma}' not be used at the discretion of the opera- 
tor ; but the bath should never be continued for less than 
ten or more than thii'ty minutes at a time. 

The Leg-Bath, 

especially designed for the cleaning of open wounds, ulcers, 
and persons afflicted with scrofulitic and other eruptions of 
the skin, should consist of an ordinary wooden tub, the 
water wanned to blood-heat, and, when necessary, medicated 
with the preparations indicated in the treatment for those dis- 
eases ; but, in every case, pure, clean water is an essential 
and indispensable element in the cure of all cutaneous 
trouble. 

Special Directions for Bathing. 

In rubbing and drying the body, the muscles and nerves 
should be thoroughh' manipulated, especiall}' those of the 
arms, legs, and spinal column. The friction, either by hand 
or towel, should be upward, not dowmvard, and the mo- 
tion over the abdominal and thoracic viscera (the abdomen, 
chest, and trunk) iqnvard and across — a kind of circular 
motion. By this means the ligaments through which the 
uterine organism is held in position would be materially 
strengthened, and displacements and iceaknesses, in most 
instances, easily corrected or entirely averted. 



494 Woman's Medical Companion. 

Bathing in Advanced Age 

should be confined to warm water, the temperature ranging 
between 95° and 105°. A warm bath of this kind, every 
other day, would, if the person be otherwise healthy, prolong 
her life from ten to twenty years. 

Cold- Water Foot-Baths 

(with or without salt) are invaluable as remedies in rheu- 
matism, rush of blood to the head, inflammation of the e^'es, 
hemorrhages, gout, and other inflammatory or poisoned 
conditions of the blood, and especially in fevers (whether 
remittent or intermittent, contagious or simple.) 



Injections. 

In the treatment of the various diseases, and also in the 
chapter on Hvgiene, we have recommended the cleansing of 
the internal organism b}^ injection, or the judicious use of 
syringes. Now, as the kind of syringe used is of the 
most vital importance, we deem it our dut}^ to caution our 
readers to exercise the greatest possible care in their selection 
of the instrument. There are a great many in the market, 
each of which possesses some peculiar excellence, but at the 
same time there are others which are worthless and should 
never be used. We consider the use of the old st^^le glass 
syringes., in uterine difficulties, to be attended with consid- 
erable danger, from their lial^ility to break or chip, and cause 
laceration of the parts. Many metallic sj^inges are equally 
objectionable, from the oxidation and other chemical changes 
to which they are liable, and also from the fact that it is 
very difficult to regulate the force of the injection, so as to 
avoid stricture or other injur}' to the adjacent organs. Our 



Appendix, 495 



own preference is for a syringe or injecting apparatus made 
of vulcanized rubber, which should be entirel}^ under the 
control of the patient, easil}' cleansed, and simple in construc- 
tion, such as " Fairbanks'," which are manufactured with 
glass, metal and hard rubber tubes ; but we should decidedly 
recommend the hard rubber as being the most cleanl}^ dur- 
able, and least likely to get out of order. If an}^ of our 
readers should desire to purchase through us, we have made 
special arrangements with the manufacturers whereby we 
can suppl}' them — 

Small size, No. 1 . • • . . . . $2.00 

Medium size, No. 2 2.50 

Large size, No. 3 . . « . . . 8.00 

A large and varied selection of the best and most 
approved instruments may always be obtained at Messrs. 
Codman & ShurtlefF's, and other reputable and eminent 
surgical mechanicians, whose reputation would be a suffi- 
cient guarantee for the reliability of any instrument they 
might recommend. 



GLOSSARY 



Abdomen. The lower "belly, containing 
the stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, 
etc. 

Abnormal. Irregular; unhealthy. 

Abortion. Miscarriage, or the expulsion 
of the foetus before the seventh month. 

Abscess. A collection of pus. 

Acute. Sharp ; a disease of recent date, 
or -which terminates in a short time. 

Adipose. Fatty. 

Albumeyi, albuminous. A substance re- 
sembling the -white of an egg. 

Aliment. Nourishment; food. 

Alimentary canal. The passages from 
the mouth to the anus, through -which 
the food passes. 

Alvine. Relating to the intestines. 

AmenorrTum,. Suppression of the 
menses. 

Anatomy. The knowledge of the struct- 
ure of the human bo .ly. 

Ancemia. Debility. 

Anthelmintic. Whatever procures the 
evacuation of -worms. 

Aorta. The large artery from the left 
ventricle of the heart. 

Aperient. Whatever gently opens the 
bo-wels. 

Anus. Termination of the recttim ex- 
ternally. 

Atrophy. A -wasting awaj'. 

Auricle. A cavity of the heart; an ear. 

Belladonna. The deadly night-shade; 

a narcotic. 
Bile. The gall; a b.tter fluid secreted 

by the liver. 
Bronchia. The smaller branches of the 

windpipe. 



Bronchial. Belonging to the -windpipe. 

Bronchitis. Inflammation of the bron- 
chii. 

Cesarean operation. Cutting the child 
out of the -womb. 

Cardiac. The heart. 

Caries. Mortification of the bones. 

Carotid. An artery of the neck. 

Cartilage. The gristle attached to bones. 

Cartilaginous. Ha-ving the appearance 
of cartilage. 

Catamenia. The menses. 

Cataplasm, A poultice. 

Catarrh t Catarrhal. An increased dis- 
charge from the nose. 

Cathartic. Whatever produces an evacu- 
ation from the bo-wels. 

Catheter. A hollow instrument to in- 
troduce into the bladder for the pur- 
pose of dra-wing oflf the urine. 

Caustic. Whatever burns or destroys 
the texture of a part. 

Cellular. Ha-dng little cells. 

Cellular membrane. The fatty mem- 
brane immediately beneath the skin.^ 

Cerebellum. The lower part of the brain. 

Cerebral, cerebi'um. The brain. 

Cervical. Belonging to the neck. 

Chest. The cavity of the body -which 
contains the lungs. 

Chlorosis. The green-sickness. 

Chlorotic. ^ff'ected by chlorosis. 

Chronic. Applied to diseases of long 
standing. 

Chyle. The milk-like fluid resulting 
from the digestion of food, and from 
-which the blood is formed. 

Cl'ivicle. The collar-bone. 

Clyster. An enema or injection. 



Appendix . 



497 



Coagula. The clot of the blood. 

Coccyx. A small bone belonging to the 
pelvis. 

Colon, The largest intestine. 

Coma. A propensity to continued sleep. 

Conception. Impregnation of the ovum 
of the female. 

Congenital. Existing at birth. 

Congestion. Distended with blood. 

Conjugal. Relating to marriage. 

Conjunctiva. The membrane that covers 
the anterior part of the eyeball and 
the inner surface of the eyelids. 

Constipation. Costiveness, 

Counter-irritation. Artificial irritation 
in a part distant from that diseased. 

Cranium. The skull or upper part of 
the head. 

Craniotomy. The operation of perfo- 
rating the cranium. 

Cutaneous. Relating to the skin. 

Defecate. To purge; to evacuate the 
bowels. 

Demulcent. A medicine of a soft, mild 
and viscid character. 

Derivatives. Counter-irritants. 

Diagnosis- The art of distinguishing 
diseases. 

Diaphragm,. The midriff, or muscle that 
divides the chest from the abdomen. 

Diarrhoea, An increased discharge from 
the bowels. 

Diathesis. Peculiarity of constitution. 

Dietetic. Relating to the food. 

Digestion. The process by which the 
food is converted into chyle. 

Diluents. Those substances which in- 
crease the fluid portion of the blood. 

Diuretic. That which increases the flow 
of urine. 

Dorsal. Relating to the back. 

Douche. Water poured from a height 
ui^on any part of the body. 

Duodenum. The intestine next to the 
stomach. 

Dyxcntery. A discharge of bloody mu- 
cus from the bowels. 

Dysmenorrhoea, Painful menstruation. 



Dyspepsia. Indigestion. 

Dysuria Suppression of the urine. 

Edematous. Dropsical swelling. 

Embryo. A germ ; the foetus before the 
seventh month. 

Emetic. That which produces vomiting. 

EmmenagoQue. That which promotes 
the discharge of the menses. 

Emollient. Softening ; relaxing. 

Emulsion. A soft or oily substance. 

Enema, pi. enemata. A clyster or injec- 
tion into the rectum. 

Engorgement. Distention; fulness. 

Epidemic. A generally prevalent dis- 
ease. 

Epigastric. Over the stomach. 

Epilepsy. The falling-sickness. 

Ergot. The spur of rye. 

Erotic. Passionate; lustful. 

Erysipelas. St. Anthony's fire. 

Esophagus. The gullet or passage for 
food. 

Exacerbation, An increase in the vio- 
lence of a disease. 

Excrement, The faeces. 

Exhale. To emit. 

Expectorant. That which increasea the 
discharge of mucus from the lungs. 

FcRces. The escrcmenticial portion of 

the food. 
Farinaceous. Of flour or meal. 
Fauces, The cavity behind the tongue. 
Febrile, Feverish. 
Femoral. Belonging to the thigh. 
Femur. The thigh. 
Fetid. Offensive to the smell. 
Fibre. A filament or thread. 
Fibrine, A fibroiis substance obtained 

from blood and animal matter. 
Fistula. An ulcerous cavity with a nar- 

row opening. 
Flex. To bend. 
Foetus. The child in the womb. 
Follicle. A small gland. 
Fxcnction. The natural action of any 

organ. 
Fungus. Proud flesh. 



498 



Woman's Medical Companiojt. 



Gangrene. Mortification. 

Oanglion. A knot; applied to the en- 
largement of nerves. 

Gastric. Appertaining to the stomach. 

Gastritis, gastralgia. Inflammation and 
pain of the stomach. 

Gelatin. Known as jelly. 

Gestation. Pregnancy. 

Glottis. The opening of the larynx. 

Emmatemesis. Vomiting of blood. 

Hoemoptysis. Spitting blood. 

Hectic. A fever arising from Internal 

suppuration. 
Hemiplegia. Palsy of one half of the 

body. 
Hemorrhage. A bleeding. 
Hemorrhoids. Bleeding piles. 
Hepatic. Belonging to the liver. 
Hernia. A rupture. 
Humor. A fluid of the body. 
Hygiene. Relating to the regimen, diet, 

etc., of the sick. 

Hium, Hiac. Relating to the haunch- 
bone or region of the body near it. 

Induration. A hardening. 

Inferior The lower part. 

Insalivation. Mixing the food with sa- 
liva. 

Integument. An external covering. 

Intercostal. Between the ribs. 

Issue. An artificial ulcer, kept open for 
the purpose of producing a discharge. 

Jugular. Belonging to the throat. 

Labia. The lips; applied to the exter- 
nal female genitals. 

Lactation. Nursing. 

Larynx. The superior opening of the 
windpipe. 

Laxative. A gentle purge. 

Leucorrhoea. The whites. 

Ligament. A strong membrane con- 
necting the bones. 

Ligature. A thread. 

liniment. An oily fluid. 



Liquor amnii. The fluid in which the 

foetus floats. 
Lochia. The cleanings, or show, after 

labor. 
Lumbar. Relating to the loins. 
Lymph. A thin white, or rose-colored 

fluid found in the lymphatic vessels. 
Lymphatic. Relating to lymph ; a cold, 

relaxed habit of body. 

Marasmus. "Wasting away. 
Ifarita I. Relating to a husband. 
Masticate. To chew. 
Meatus urinariua. Opening of the ure- 
thra. 
Meconium. The excrement found in the 

intestines of the child at birth. 
Membrane. A thin expanding and elas- 

tic substance. 
Menorrhagia. Immoderate flow of the 

menses; flooding. 
Menses, menstruation. The monthly dis- 

charge from the vagina of females. 
Micturition. Voiding of urine. 
Morbific. Diseased. 
Mucilage, mucilaginous. Of a gummy 

or slimy character. 
Mucus. A viscid fluid secreted by mu- 

couB membranes. 

Narcotic. Anodyne; a medicine that 

produces sleep. 
Ifasal. Relating to the nose. 
JVates. The fleshy parts on which we 

sit. 
Nerve. A long white cord transmitting 

sensation. 
Neuralgia. Pain in a nerve. 
Nitrogen. A component of the atmoB. 

phere. 
Normal. Regular ; healthy. 
Nucleus. That about which something 

is formed. 
Nutrition. Nourishing. 
Nymphomania. Uncontrollable desire 

in women for coition. 

(Edema. A swelling; dropsical. 
Ophthalmia. Inflammation of the eye. 



Appendix. 



499 



Opiate. That which procures sleep. 
Organic. Belonging to a part of the 

body; a structural disease. 
Organism. Organized structure. 
08. A bone; the mouth. 
Osseous. Bony. 
Ovaria, Ovarium, Ovary. The organs 

that contain the female ova,. 
Oxygen. A gas which forms the vital 

part of the air. 

Paralysis. The palsy. 

Parenchymatous. Relathig to the cellu- 
lar substance. 

Parturient, parturition. Childbirth. 

PatJiology, pathological. Diseased. 

Pectoral. Belonging to the chest. 

Pelvis. The bony cavity below the ab- 
domen. 

Penis. The male organ. 

Percussio7i. The act of striking against 
the abdomen. * 

Peritoneum. The membrane that sur- 
rounds the whole contents of the abdo- 
men and pelvis. 

Peritonitis. Inflammation of the peri- 
toneum. 

Perspiration. The vapor thatpasses off 
from the skin. 

Pessary. An instrument to support the 
uterus by being introduced into the 
vagina. 

Phthisis. Pulmonary consumption. 

Physiology. The science of life. 

Placenta. The afterbirth. 

Plethora. An excess of blood. 

Pleurisy. Inflammation of the mem- 
brane that surrounds the lungs. 

Postmortem. After death. 

Pregnancy. Being with child. 

Prolapsus. A slipping-down. 

Puberty. Ripe age. 

Pihes. The part covered with hair 
above the genitals. 

Pulmonary. Belonging to the lungs. 

Purgative. Whatever produces increased 
discharges from the bowels. 

Pus. A matter found in abscesses and 



Rachitic. Rickety. 

Rectum. The last portion of the large 

intestines, terminating in the anus. 
Regimen. The diet, etc., of the sick. 
Reproduction. Producing anew. 
Resolution. Termination of inflamma. 

tion without disorganization. 

Sacrum. A bone belonging to the pel- 
vis. 
Saliva. The fluid that is secreted in 

the mouth. 
Salivation. An increased flow of saliva. 
Sanguine. Bloody. 
Scirrhus. Cancer. 
Scrotum. The skin that covers the male 

testicles. 
Sedative. Whatever diminishes animal 

energy. 
Serum, serous. The watery part of the 

blood. 
Simulate. To appear like; counterfeit. 
Spine, spinal. The backbone. 
Stethoscope. An instrument for making 

out internal diseases by the abnormal 

sounds. 
Strumous. Scrofulous. 
Strychnine. A stimulant; poisonous 

substance. 
Suppurate. The formation of pus. 
Sutures. The union of the bones of the 



Tendon. A white, hard cord by which 

a muscle is attached to a bone. 
Tenesmus. A continual inclination to 

go to stool without a discharge. 
Therapeutical. Means employed to cure 

disease. 
Thorax, thoracic. The chest ; relating 

to the chest. 
Tissue. The texture of an organ. 
Trachea. The windpipe. 
Trunk. The body apart from the limbs. 
Tubercle, tuberculous. Scrofula; a hard, 

indolent tumor in the lungs and other 

glandular parts. 

Ulceration. A purulent solution of any 
part of the body. 



500 



Woman s Medical Companion. 



Umbilical cord. The navel string or 


Veriebrce, vertebral. The spinal col- 


cord which connects the child with the 


umn or backbone. 


placenta. 


Vertex. The crown of the head. 


Umbilicus. The navel. 


Vertigo. Dizziness. 


Uterus. The womb. 


Vesicle. An elevation of the scarf-skin, 




containing a watery fluid. 


Vascular. Relating to the veins. 


Vicarious. Instead of. 


Veins. The vessels which return the 


Virus. The poison of contagion. 


blood to the heart. 


Viscera. Applied to the internal organs 


Venery, venereal. Intercourse of the 


of the body. 


sexes. 


Viscid. Sticky ; ropy. 


Venous. Relating to the blood of the 


Vulva. The passage from the external 


veins. 


generative organs to the womb. 



CODMAISr & SI1UI?>TLEFF, 

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MANUFACTUKERS AND IMPOKTEE8 OF 

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THE AUTHOR OF THIS WORK, 

EREFK J. GARBIT, M.D., 

OF 

124 TREMONT ST., BOSTON, MASS., 

Is an Alumnus of the University of London, England (Class of 1858), a Graduate 
of the Medical Department of that University, and a Member of the Royal College 
of Physicians, England, and has had thirty years' practical experience in the treat, 
ment of the 

DISEASES OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN, 

MENTAL AND NERVOUS DISORDERS, 

AND CHRONIC DISEASES GENERALLY, 

Having been for more than twenty years connected professionally •vrith Barthol- 
omew's and Guy's Hospitals in London ; and subsequently (in consequence of the 
Financial Crisis in England in 1866) removing to New Tork, where he was engaged 
for ten years in Medical Practice in the principal Hospitals, Dispensaries, and other 
Public Institutions. 

He has made this important and prevalent class of Aflfectiona his special subject 
of investigation and study, and has met with uniform and signal success in the 
treatment of the numerous cases which have come under his notice. He can be 
seen at his office, as above, 

From 7 to 9 A.M., 2 to 4, and 5 to 9 P.M. 

Correspondents by mail will receive prompt attention on description of symptoms 
and transmission of Fee of Two Dollars ; or will be visitedat residence, on payment 
of Travelling Expenses and Consultation Fee. It is, however, always desirable 
to have a Personal Interview with the Patient, if practicable. 

The JiosT UNEXCEPTIONABLE REFERENCES can be given, to patients and others, 
as to professional skill, eiaJp , Cf (I- 

X 8 9 5 'ft iJoFFICE, 

124 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. 






















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